Kiowa School District gets new chance for Colorado BEST building grant
At a Kiowa School District town hall meeting on July 17, a small group gathered to discuss once again being awarded the largest BEST school-construction grant in Colorado history. Last year, the district was awarded a $55.5 million grant to build a new school, but lost the funding when the accompanying bond request did not pass in the November 2024 general election.
This year, the state awarded the district an extra $4 million to reduce the tax burden being asked of the community. This year, the total grant award being offered is $60,680,865.03, or 85.9% of the total project. The remainder, $9,993,331.37, or 14.1% of the total project, would fall to Kiowa taxpayers, who would have to vote in favor of a bond to seal the deal. The proposed school building would be located on an almost 40-acre site south of Highway 86, already owned by the district.
An update on the Kiowa Schools site reads, “We are thrilled to share that we were just awarded a second historic BEST Grant award for $60M. We have a long road ahead, and as with last year’s grant, these funds are contingent on a successful bond request in the November 2025 election. Last year’s bond request was $13.7 M, but due to the extreme needs in our current school campus, we were granted a waiver this year, bringing our community matching funds down to $ 9.9 M. This is still a significant community sacrifice, but we believe it is a step in the right direction.”
Kiowa Schools Principal Vaden Holmes, Facilities and Maintenance Director Ed Holmes and School Board President Beverly Durant were all present at the town hall. Superintendent Travis Hargreaves and Josh Grenier from Wold Architects & Engineers provided specifics and design ideas. Evan Lugo, also from Wold, and Artaic Group’s Jon Usery were also present.
Hargreaves said there’s a good reason for having contractors in place now. During the Master Planning Process for the district, there was a bid and procurement selection process to find the best, most cost-efficient option for work on a potential new building.
“The important thing with doing it before the bond is so that if/when it passes we can hit the ground on day one,” Hargreaves said. He noted that the contracts with these companies would not go into effect until after the bond passes, which means the district isn’t currently paying them anything.
Following the presentation at the Kiowa School District town hall on July 17, community members gave feedback on different school design concepts. Credit: PHOTO BY NICKY QUINBY
Fourth year for grant
This is the fourth year in which the district has received a BEST grant. Hargreaves said this year Kiowa Schools are number one on the list, demonstrating the highest need. He cited compiling problems with aging infrastructure, significant flooding, failing building systems and failing building shell as reasons the district needs a newer, safer structure. Hargreaves shared that during his first year with the district, they started the school year with the building fully flooded.
Hargreaves envisions a “safe, modern” school that students can use well into the future but will still fit the community and its needs. He believes a new building will have lower utility bills, help retain staff, protect property values and be safer and more secure than the existing campus. Hargreaves said the schools need “long-term solutions” over more quick fixes and Band-Aids.
Notably, even if the bond passes and a new building is built, some portions of the old campus will continue to be used. The new Preschool building, a recent investment, will remain in-use. School sports will still utilize the existing facilities and, since the community uses and cherishes the existing gym, the district will look into expanding opportunities for the community to share school facilities.
This year, the Kiowa School District has implemented a Design Advisory Group to help provide more concrete ideas for voters to help visualize a potential new school. Some of the preliminary guiding principles coming from this effort include building a secure and safe school, providing well-equipped academic spaces, including space for Career and Technical Education classes, accommodating community access and honoring Kiowa’s identity and history. For example, the historic Smoky Hill Trail runs through the acreage set aside for the new school campus and it would be meaningful and intentional to incorporate that history into the design.
Erin Waters, a teacher at Kiowa Elementary School, came to the town hall and supports the bond initiative. “The spirit of Kiowa is strong,” she said. “It’s one of the best schools I’ve ever worked at. The teachers actually care. The board actually cares. They show up, they give their all.”
Elbert County resident Leah Braton also supports the new school. “Anyone can go to the school and ask to see the Asbestos Management Plan,” she said. “I encourage everyone to examine this information. This documentation is furnished by the State of Colorado. The Kiowa School building is not safe. A new school building makes so much more sense than the cost of making the current buildings safe.”
Dan Mason, a local resident who opposes the upcoming school bond initiative, created the site Fair Accountable School Taxation, FASTaxation.com. Mason said he feels the cost is “obscene” and is “against forced taxation for education just as I am opposed to any forced taxation for welfare programs which is what the public school system is.”
Mason thinks the current school is safe and adequate for students and that Kiowa lacks local support to pass a bond measure. “Voters need to keep in mind that the school board, superintendent and corporate-funded issue committees like Yes For Kiowa Kids have been working overtime to convince voters to swallow the bitter tax increase to build an expensive new school due to the supposed dangers that the children daily face in the current school. If it’s that dangerous, they should not allow children in the school yet they have been for years,” he said.
Hargreaves says the district has no other choice and no other location to use and, regardless of personal opinion, the building still has significant issues, with some things not up to code, old furnishings, a lack of modern technology, etc.
Kiowa School District Superintendent Travis Hargreaves stands alongside Principal Vaden Holmes at the district’s town hall. Credit: PHOTO BY NICKY QUINBY
Deferred maintenance
Laura Smith, campaign manager with Yes For Kiowa Kids, says the “current school buildings require $28 million in deferred maintenance; therefore, it is more fiscally responsible to utilize the BEST Grant award to build a new school building for $9.9 million in taxpayer funds.”
“Kiowa’s schools are the heart of this community, and they need our help,” she went on. “There has been no shortage of misinformation, rumors, and incorrect tax implications regarding this project, so I encourage you to contact the school directly with any questions.” Yes For Kiowa Kids is online at yesforkiowakids.com.
If the bond is passed this fall, construction will be over the 2026-2027 school year and will have to be completed by the end of June 2028. The district will roll out a tax calculator soon so community members can see how their taxes would be impacted. For example, a $500,000 property would pay $330 per year, or about $27.50 a month, to build the new school.
To learn more about the BEST Grant, visit cde.state.co.us/capitalconstruction/best. The grant is funded by The Colorado State Land Board, the Colorado Lottery, and marijuana excise tax.
For updates on the BEST grant, visit kiowaschool.org/apps/news or go to Facebook at facebook.com/kiowaschools525.
The post Kiowa School District gets new chance for Colorado BEST building grant appeared first on Colorado Community Media.
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