De Soto School District

The district that is growing while the county shrinks

Nearly every district in Johnson County is planning around fewer students. De Soto is planning around more. The district projects elementary enrollment up more than 5% and high school enrollment up about 7% over the next five years, which would put it at an all-time high. Superintendent Cory Gibson has put it plainly: “It is forecasted within the next five years, we will hit an all-time high of the number of enrolled students.”

Two things are driving it. The Panasonic EV battery plant opened in summer 2025 and brought workers and their families with it. And De Soto is positioned for roughly 6,300 new housing units over the next decade.

The interesting wrinkle: De Soto’s kindergarten classes are shrinking too, like everyone else’s — birth rates are birth rates. The growth is in the upper grades, because families are arriving with school-age children already in tow. That is a relocation pattern, not a birth-rate pattern, and it is why this district looks nothing like its neighbors right now.

What the 2026 bond actually buys

Voters approved $99.85 million in general obligation bonds on March 3, 2026. The district structured it to hold the bond mill levy at 15.366 mills — its lowest in more than thirty years — so the issuance came with no tax rate increase.

Three details in there are worth pulling out, because they answer questions buyers actually ask. Storm shelters at every middle school is not a small thing in Kansas. The early childhood expansion exists specifically to reduce a waitlist, which tells you demand is real and currently unmet. And the district is putting real money into special education facilities rather than deferring them.

The two high schools

USD 232 runs De Soto High School and Mill Valley High School, plus a dedicated Career & Technical Education Center that the bond is expanding.

Mill Valley — recognition

Facts and awards only. We do not rank schools.

• Scholars Bowl — state champions 2009 and 2015; second place 2025
• Journalism — the 2009 JAG yearbook won a National Pacemaker Award and Best of Show at the National High School Journalism Convention
• FIRST Robotics — championship appearances in 2006, 2013, 2017 and 2018
• National Science Bowl — competed in Washington, D.C. in 2007 and 2009
• Choir — the Jag Chorale earned straight I ratings in male, female and mixed at contest in 2013 and 2014
• Music programs — two mixed choruses, two women’s groups and a mixed ensemble; Blue, Silver and Symphonic bands plus jazz band
• Athletics — 28 state championships, including eight in football, three in girls cross country and three in dance

Special services

USD 232 maintains a Special Services department covering the IEP process, Child Find and referrals, early childhood special education at the Cedar Trails Exploration Center, and gifted services, with a published parent information packet.

Stated as what the district provides, which is how it should be stated. If you need to know whether a particular service fits a particular child, that conversation belongs with the district’s Special Services office, and they are the ones who can actually answer it.

What this means if you are buying here

A growing district and a shrinking one create genuinely different situations, and it is worth being clear-eyed about both sides.

Growth means capacity gets added rather than removed, and the bond is funding that now. It also means boundaries can shift as new capacity comes online — not from consolidation, but from expansion. Either way the practical advice is identical: confirm the assigned schools for a specific address with the district, not from a listing.

The mill levy point is the one most people miss. The district held its bond levy at 15.366 mills while issuing nearly $100 million, so this particular round of building is not showing up as a rate increase on your bill. That is a real and checkable fact, and it is the kind of thing worth verifying yourself rather than taking anyone’s word for — including ours.

School boundary disclaimer. School attendance boundaries and district assignments change. Nothing here should be relied on for a specific property — confirm assigned schools directly with De Soto USD 232 before making any decision. Programs, facilities and awards listed are factual and are not offered as ratings or as a measure of school quality. Bond figures and the mill levy are as reported by the district; verify current figures with the district and with the Johnson County Clerk. Last verified September 5, 2026. Sources: De Soto USD 232; Johnson County Election Office; KSHB 41; Johnson County Post. Wingman Real Estate — The Shopper Team is not affiliated with De Soto USD 232.