“Building Our Future” is the theme for Johnson County Central's 2026 school bond initiative that will be voted on in the general election on Tuesday, November 3. The JCC Board of Education held two community meetings, on September 30 in Cook and on October 5 in Tecumseh, with an estimated 65 patrons attending each meeting. The proposed bond initiative is for constructing a one-level Pre-K-8 school facility for $35 million over a 25-year term.
It all comes down to a decision about whether the patrons of the Johnson County Central School district want to save $52 million dollars over a 25 year period at $2.08 million dollars a year with the construction of a new Pre-K-8 school facility or continue spending $57 million in maintenance repairs and improvements to the existing facilities in Cook and Tecumseh. Two years of bond payments, $5 million, subtracted from the overall inefficiencies of $57 million is $52 million in savings.
There are continued logistical and staffing inefficiencies and continued rising transportation costs, and repairs and renovations to the older three facilities use limited funds through the Special Building Fund and QCPUF (Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund) used for remediation of safety and security issues. The age, condition and cost to renovate the Tecumseh elementary building are problems and design fees for renovations tend to be higher than design fees for new construction.
