Johnson County voters on Nov. 4 will make a sales tax decision that could have a long-ranging impact on Kansas University institutions there.

If voters pass the tax, both KU’s Edwards Campus and Cancer Center would stand to receive new buildings and programs.

If the tax were to fail, KU officials said they will continue down current paths, leaving any improvements to more traditional funding mechanisms. That could mean improvements would be years, or even decades, away from happening, they say.

The one-eighth cent sales tax in Johnson County is projected to initially yield $15 million annually, divided equally among the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, the KU Cancer Center in Westwood and the Kansas State National Food Safety and Animal Health Institute in Olathe. The tax has no sunset.

“It’s a very imaginative proposal and a very good use of tax dollars,” said Fred Logan, a Johnson County civic leader who is supporting the campaign.

He and other backers of the tax say the proposal would be a boon for economic development in the county, and would help inject capital into higher education institutions.

For KU, two different Johnson County elements of the university system would stand to benefit.

Edwards Campus

At its Overland Park campus, if the tax passes, KU would be able to build and staff a new 75,000-square-foot building dedicated to classroom and office space.

The new space would allow the campus to add 1,000 more students and to offer 10 new degrees.

“This is probably the most significant decision Johnson County voters have made since the formation of Johnson County Community College,” said Bob Clark, vice chancellor for the Edwards Campus.

The new degree programs would be focused in business, engineering, science and technology, Clark said, and would feature four new undergraduate programs and six graduate programs.

“That’s where the workforce has the greatest need,” Clark said, citing discussions with business leaders in Johnson County.

Without the tax, and with the campus’ current single-digit enrollment growth, the campus would have to look for alternative means of support to build the next building.

In order to receive a similar level of support, Clark said it would take a $250 million endowment to come forward, or more than 10 years of additional single-digit growth.

Cancer Center

Upon the passage of the sales tax, the KU Cancer Center would stand to receive a building and land in nearby Fairway donated by the Hall family.

The 70,000-square-foot facility would be dedicated to Phase I cancer trials, which deal with drugs being tested on humans for the first time, said Roy Jensen, director of the KU Cancer Center.

The donation of the building and land is conditional on the passage of the sales tax, Jensen said.

If the tax were to pass, the Cancer Center could potentially have the building ready in about a year and a half, Jensen said.

Recent donations including a $1 million gift from Floriene and George Lieberman of Leawood and a $20 million donation from Kansas City civic leader Annette Bloch have provided some momentum toward the center’s aim of achieving designation from the National Cancer Institute, Jensen said. He said the new sales tax funds would further help the process along.

During the first few years of operation, the center would likely have the capacity to serve 400 patients, and would have a staff of between 90 and 100 employees.

Obtaining a similar level of funding from another source would be difficult, and would certainly extend the time before any building would be possible by many years, Jensen said.