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Facilities » Facilities Master Plan » Long Range Facility Plan (2025)

Long Range Facility Plan (2025)

McPherson USD 418 – Safe and Secure Future Ready Facilities, Stronger Community, Better Educational Outcomes

 

McPherson Public Schools has the opportunity to move forward with a fiscally responsible, educationally powerful facilities plan that addresses long-standing needs while positioning the district for the future. This $94 to $110 million program represents a balanced and strategic approach—preserving the strengths of our current campuses, modernizing and securing every school, consolidating elementary facilities for operational efficiency, and creating new learning environments that reflect the expectations and outcomes of 21st-century education.

 

This plan accomplishes four essential goals simultaneously:

  1. Safety & Security for all children.
  2. Improving educational opportunities for every student, Pre-K through 12.
  3. Addressing known facility deficiencies, including flooding, safety, and aging infrastructure.
  4. Ensuring long-term financial stewardship through right-sized facilities and districtwide efficiencies.
 
 
Elementary Schools: Modern, Safe, Efficient, and Neighborhood-Based
The long-range facility plan anticipates the eventual consolidation of four elementary schools into three districtwide PreK–4 campuses. This adjustment responds to enrollment trends, operational needs, and the recommendations from the RSP enrollment and capacity study completed in June 2025. The specific configuration and timing of elementary school consolidation will be determined by the Board of Education following additional analysis and community input.
 
A key long-term operational efficiency in the full facility plan comes from transitioning to a modernized 5–8 middle school campus and ultimately taking the existing Middle School building offline. This change remains an essential component of the district’s long-term financial and educational sustainability. The exact phasing, timing, and grade-level transitions associated with this shift will be determined in future stages of the planning process and will be guided by enrollment, staffing, community input, and available funding.
 
While interim steps may be considered in the future to support smoother transitions for students and staff, no decisions have been made regarding grade configurations or building-specific changes prior to a successful bond election.
 
The long-range vision aims to achieve the following:
Operational efficiencies
Consolidating elementary facilities and eventually taking the existing Middle School offline reduces long-term operating and staffing costs, strengthens financial sustainability, and aligns building capacity with current and projected enrollment.
 
Preservation of neighborhood school identity
The district remains committed to maintaining neighborhood-based elementary schools that support walkability, community connection, and strong family engagement—consistent priorities identified through community surveys and meetings.
 
Improved grade alignment and smoother academic transitions
The long-range plan envisions a modernized, developmentally aligned 5–8 middle school structure. This configuration supports academic continuity, improved staffing flexibility, and stronger alignment between upper-elementary and middle-level learning environments. Specific grade-level transitions will be determined at a later stage.
 
Safety and security upgrades at all elementary schools
Each elementary campus will receive:
    • Secure and controlled entry vestibules
    • Modern multi-purpose storm shelters

These upgrades increase student safety districtwide and ensure consistent protection across all campuses.

Modernized learning environments
Each elementary school will receive targeted improvements, including enhanced:
    • Classroom environments
    • Special education and early childhood areas
    • Lighting, technology, and infrastructure
    • Interior finishes and building systems
Elementary students will benefit from consistent, high-quality environments across all campuses
Middle School: A Modern 5–8 Campus Leveraging the District’s Newest Building.
A major strength of this plan is converting Eisenhower Elementary into a modern Middle School, creating a unified 5–8 campus through a combination of renovation and a significant approximately 65,000 SF addition.
 
This achieves multiple benefits:
A grade configuration that improves academic outcomes. Research strongly supports separating early adolescent learners into focused learning environments.
This plan creates:
    • A 5th–6th Grade Academy
    • A 7th–8th Grade Middle School
    • All under one roof, but with appropriate separation for age-specific needs 
 
This structure supports:
    • Strong academic transitions
    • Better social-emotional support
    • Team-based teaching
    • Greater flexibility in advanced coursework
    • More efficient staffing and scheduling 
 
 
Leveraging the district’s newest campus, adjacent to the community athletic complex
Locating the Middle School at Eisenhower creates incredible value:
    • Proximity to the community athletics complex 
    • Access to existing infrastructure and parking
    • A campus that is already heavily invested in
    • A vibrant activity and academic hub for grades 5–8
    • Permanent solution to drainage and flooding challenges. The plan includes re-grading the site as part of the addition to correct stormwater issues on the site, addressing one of the most frequently cited concerns from the community.
    • Modernized classrooms and learning labs. Renovation + new construction ensure the middle school campus supports:
 
      • STEM learning
      • Hands-on labs
      • Fine arts
      • Exploratory programs
      • Special education needs
      • Modern collaboration and breakout spaces
      • Athletics / Storm Shelter
High School: A Renewed, Modern 9–12 Campus That Honors Community Investments
The plan leverages approximately 108,000 SF of the existing high school while adding approximately 90,000 SF of new construction to create a modern, cohesive 9–12 campus.
 
New academic environments for next-generation learning
The renewed high school will provide:
    • Collaborative academic wings
    • New science and CTE labs
    • Flexible learning studios
    • Career pathways aligned with workforce needs
    • New technology infrastructure
    • Modernized classrooms connected to real-world learning
 
Preserving major community investments
The plan retains and improves:
    • The Stadium & Track
    • Tennis Courts
    • The Roundhouse gymnasium
    • The Performing Arts Center
    •  Existing Athletic Support Spaces
    • Administration Offices
This protects tens of millions in community investments while addressing issues that have hindered previous bond attempts.
 
Permanently fixing high school flooding issues
This project directly addresses stormwater, drainage, and foundational concerns. A definitive, long-term solution is built into the construction scope.
 
Safer site design, better circulation, improved student access
The site will receive:
    • Safer traffic patterns
    • Improved pickup/drop-off
    • Better pedestrian flow •
    • Clear and secure main entrances
 
Districtwide Safety & Security Upgrades
 
Every school benefits from:
  • Tornado-safe storm shelters
  • New secure entrances
  • Modern access control systems
  • Better site circulation patterns
  • Upgraded communication systems
 
These upgrades meet modern security standards and provide peace of mind to families.
 

Operational and Financial Efficiencies Across the District

This plan is designed for long-term sustainability:

Fewer buildings → lower annual operating costs

Newer buildings → lower ongoing maintenance costs

Closing the old Middle School and consolidating elementary schools reduces overhead.

 

Right-sized facilities for future enrollment

The plan balances long-term demographic trends with flexible design.

 

Lower maintenance costs due to modernized facilities

Targeted improvements address the most critical aging systems across the district.

Improved energy efficiency

Improved indoor air quality and comfort

New and renovated spaces will significantly reduce energy consumption.

A Plan That Reflects Community Feedback

 

The community repeatedly asked for:

    • Maintaining the HS campus
    • Protecting investment in athletics and performing arts
    • Safer elementary schools
    • Improved grade configurations
    • Addressing flooding and maintenance issues
    • A plan that aligns with fiscal responsibility
    • Operational efficiency
    • Transparency and clarity

 

This plan delivers on all those priorities.

Conclusion: A Balanced, Responsible, Student Centered Vision for the Next 50 Years

This $94 to $110 million plan is the most educationally effective and fiscally responsible scenario.

 

It aligns with community values, preserves neighborhood schools, and transforms McPherson’s facilities into a modern, future-ready system.

 

Most importantly, it creates:

  • Safer Campuses
  • Stronger academic environments
  • A Sustainable Operational Model
  • Equitable Learning Opportunities for all Students
  • A Plan Worthy of Community Support

 

This is the plan that brings McPherson together by honoring its past, addressing present needs, and investing wisely in its future.

Preventive Maintenance Program

Strategic actions to protect community investment and ensure long-term sustainability

 

As the district modernizes its instructional facilities, the next essential component of the long-range plan is the development and implementation of an ongoing, districtwide preventive maintenance program. This program should be built on predictable annual funding and multi-year maintenance contracts to ensure buildings remain efficient, safe, and functional for decades.

 

The district should establish dedicated annual budgets and service agreements in the following areas:

  • Asphalt & Pavement Systems: Routine sealing, patching, and resurfacing to extend pavement life and reduce costly failures.
  • Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) Systems: Scheduled inspections, filter service, mechanical tune-ups, and system calibrations to improve efficiency and extend system life cycles.
  • Roofing Systems: Annual inspections, repairs, and membrane maintenance to protect against leaks, water damage, and premature replacement.
  • Interior Finishes & Building Components: Cyclical updates to flooring, paint, casework, ceiling systems, and other finishes that impact learning environments and long-term durability.
A formal preventive maintenance plan strengthens the district’s ability to protect capital investments, reduces unexpected repair costs, and creates more predictable budgeting year to year.
 

District Support Consolidation

District Support Facilities: Consolidation & Optimization

In addition to instructional facilities, the long-range plan should include a strategy to modernize and consolidate district support operations. These support functions—transportation, maintenance, warehousing, administration, and professional development—are critical to efficient district operations but are currently spread across multiple aging or undersized facilities.

 

The district should prioritize a long-term plan to:

  • Consolidate support operations into as few facilities as practical to reduce operating costs, eliminate duplicate systems, and improve staff collaboration and efficiency. 
  • Stop leasing or operating high-cost, non-district-owned spaces where feasible, redirecting annual rent into district-owned infrastructure.
Evaluate and divest from aging, inefficient, or undersized buildings, including:  
  • The existing Middle School (long-term disposition once the 5–8 plan is complete)
  • The current district office, which is significantly undersized
  • The Park building, which is in poor condition and not suitable for continued use
 
Use proceeds from the sale of surplus properties or district capital dollars to create one or more modern, right-sized district support campuses.
 
Consider redevelopment of the Park building site for district administration, support services, or professional development, depending on the final configuration and board direction.
 
Consider purchase of the existing bus barn property for development.
 
The long-term objective is clear: Create an efficient, sustainable, district-owned support footprint that reduces overhead, improves service delivery, and aligns with the district’s future needs. 
The Long Range Facility Planning Process