WICHITA, Kansas, October 14, 2008 -- The $370 million Wichita schools bond issue was the center of debate Tuesday night at an event sponsored by the Wichita and Sedgwick County Pachyderm Clubs. 

The district wants to use the money to build six new schools, improve athletic facilities, and upgrade technical education.

Classrooms in Wichita schools are overcrowded and it's only going to get worse.  That was the argument from the “yes” side at Tuesday night's debate.

Sarah Olson from the group CARE told of horror stories. "I also heard about a parent who said his child sat on a countertop in a math class at Heights because there wasn't one more inch of space on that classroom floor to put a desk for his child.”

"There is no correlation between spending all this money on physical amenities and student achievement," countered Helen Cochran from the group Citizens for Better Education.

Cochran and Bob Weeks of Wichitans for Effective Education spoke on the “no” side of the issue.

They agree there are some needs that need to be addressed but $370 million goes way beyond what's critical.  And voters are forced to choose all or nothing.

That includes $61 million for athletic facilities. "We don't believe that every single school needs the same facilites, it costs too much money," Cochran said.

“I've also had a client that turned down a job at a very large industry here because there wasn't a drum line extra-curricular activity at that time for his high school daughter," argued Olson.

Advocates for a bond issue point to the facilities at suburban districts and say Wichita students deserve the same and they'll get it for less.

"To put it in perspective, if Valley Center was the same size as us their $57 million bond issue would be over a billion dollars compared to our $370 million," said Wichita School Board member Lynn Rogers.

But those against the bond say the cost is too high and it won't stop at $370 million.

"When you build a new classroom you're gonna need a new teacher, maybe a new teachers aid some new instructional coaches, maybe some new administrators I don't know, lights, heating, air-conditioning janitorial services, these are the costs that keep going year after year," said Weeks.

The issue will be on the November 4th ballot.