WAVERLY, Neb. (KLKN) – After a $90 million school bond failed to be approved in Waverly in 2024, district leaders altered their plans to revamp Waverly Public Schools with a $64 million plan.
The school board met Monday night for a final meeting before the community votes.
“You’ve probably seen an additional flyer that was out here last week. We are sending videos out on social media. Our Friday updates have updated bond issue information along with the videos,” said Superintendent Corey Worrell at the meeting.
He gave a brief update on the district’s final efforts, including light canvassing, posting flyers and sending out school newsletters with updates.
“Right now, it’s still information out. Once in a while, we’ll have someone call and ask us something specific, and we’ll answer those questions, and that’s where we are. We’ll see where we are next Tuesday,” said Worrell.
The vote will take place on Tuesday, May 12, and aims to improve all public schools in Waverly.
The plan includes expanding school cafeterias and weight rooms and bringing more technical programming to the district.
A leading agenda item is to improve student safety through controlled access, a system of creating barriers between a school’s entrance and the rest of the building.
One parent, Demri Luzbet, says this is a priority for her, given that she has two young children in the district.
“School safety is super important to me and my kids’ future and their education,” said Luzbet, who says she became more supportive of the plan after they reduced the bond amount.
“I’m happy with the reduction in the end. I’m glad they were able to find a way to bring that down,” she said.
Heather Martindale is also a parent who has lived in Waverly for over 20 years.
She says the community has grown significantly over the years, and the school system needs this upgrade.
“Well, if we want our kids to be successful, then we need these things to be in place to make the school better,” she said. “The community needs to grow, and we need to give the kids the resources they need and deserve.”
Another mom told Channel 8 that she was on the fence about the bond but is also becoming more supportive after the reduction.
She says that when it was at $90 million, she worried about the people in the community who did not have children in the district but would still experience a property tax increase as a result.
Lastly, one Waverly man told Channel 8 that he previously served on the board for the Foundation of Education and saw firsthand how much work went into planning these improvements.
He says he is all for the bond. Still, he understands that previous hesitations may have come from farmers, considering they have larger properties in the community and would experience a larger property tax increase than a resident with a smaller home.
This is a developing story, and once the community votes, updates will be reported on.
