Frequently Asked Questions

Your questions about the bond are answered here.

Questions About Our Challenges

  • The current middle school building has served us well over the last 65 years, but today, students and staff face several challenges related to the building’s age and design, including:

    • Leaky and inefficient windows cause water damage and impact our ability to heat and cool the building.

    • Middle school students are not allowed to use the stairwell in the 1964 section of the building to avoid disrupting Pre-K classes. This reroutes student traffic and makes it more difficult for students and staff to move between classes or exit the building.

    • The original science classrooms include fixed-station seating designed for lecture-based high school classes and are poorly equipped for today’s collaborative learning.

    • The art classroom and STEM maker’s space have outdated interior finishes and lack storage, outlets, and tools - such as a kiln - needed to best support a range of classes.

    • Many classrooms have only two original electrical outlets, which was the standard in the 1950s. More outlets are needed to accommodate the technology used in education today.

    • Second and third-floor restrooms are original to the 1958 construction and are not ADA-compliant for users with disabilities. There are also no gender-neutral restroom options on these floors.

    • Many interior finishes and lockers in the original 1958 and 1964 classrooms, halls, and common spaces are worn and beyond their useful life and are in need of replacement.

    Click here to learn more about our challenges.

  • Starting in 2022, expert third-party assessments of the middle school were completed to evaluate the quality and educational adequacy of the building. Our district used the results of these assessments to prioritize the most critical improvements at the building and worked extensively with financial experts to create a fiscally responsible investment plan for our schools and community.

Questions About the Referendum Plan

  • A bond referendum is an election that allows residents to decide whether a school district should incur debt by issuing bonds to fund improvements to its school buildings. If voters approve the referendum, it gives the school district the ability to make large-scale improvements immediately while paying off the cost of the investments over a longer period of time, similar to a mortgage. The annual payments are made using property tax revenue.

  • The investments aim to improve the health and educational value of the building. Replacing windows – in addition to the separate replacement of the boiler and HVAC system – will improve internal air quality and temperature regulation. Renovating restrooms will make them more accessible to all gender identities and people with disabilities.

    Improvements to the science, art, and maker space classrooms will make them more suitable for collaborative learning. New paint and the replacement of worn-out finishes in our classrooms, hallways, and lobby will brighten our spaces and make the building more inviting to students, staff, and visitors.

  • The referendum plan was developed by the district with help from financial and school facility experts. To help identify the specific needs of our buildings, educational adequacy, and facilities assessments were completed by ICS, a leading consultant that has worked successfully for dozens of other school districts throughout Minnesota. Financial consultants at Baird helped us identify funding options to develop a high-value investment plan for taxpayers.

  • Currently, many middle school students and staff cannot use the stairwell nearest to them because that stairwell is within the early childhood area of the building. This means the students need to walk out of their way to the other stairwell in order to access other levels of the school. This bottlenecks traffic and results in lost educational time. A new dedicated middle school stairwell would alleviate these issues and improve internal circulation within the building.

  • The current middle school building has its challenges, but it is still a sound building that has served our community well for over 65 years. The proposed plan aims to make smart investments that build upon the existing building at a much lower cost to taxpayers and allow the building to serve our district for years to come. By comparison, a new building would likely cost our district upwards of $90-$100 million.

Questions About the Boiler and HVAC System Replacement

  • No. Replacement of the boiler and HVAC system replacement is not part of the referendum plan but is being addressed separately. In December, the school board used its existing levy authority to fund the replacement. The systems are 65 years old and have experienced multiple failures in recent years, most recently in January 2024. Replacement parts are difficult or impossible to find because of their age.

  • Given the critical importance of the boiler and HVAC system to the health and safety of students and staff, the board decided to use its limited levy authority to proceed with the replacement of these critical systems rather than include the project as part of the referendum.

  • The replacement of the HVAC systems will cost $22 million in total, which results in a tax impact of approximately $6.02 per month starting in 2025 for a $150,000 residential home in the district. This investment has already been finalized and will not be impacted by the result of the referendum.

    Click here to view the tax impact chart that includes the board-approved project and the building bond referendum. To understand your estimated tax impact for ONLY the referendum, please use our tax calculator.

Questions About the Cost

  • Your individual tax impact is dependent on the value of your property. For example, the tax impact on a residential home valued at $225,000 – approximately the median home value in our district – would be $5.50 per month starting in 2025. You can easily determine your individual impact by using our tax calculator. Click here to learn more about the cost of the proposed plan.

  • No. The tax increase would take effect starting in 2025 and expire after 20 years or when the bonds for the project have been paid off, whichever is sooner.

  • The Ag2School tax credit is an automatic 70% tax credit paid directly by the state for referendum tax impacts on all agricultural property except the house, garage, and one acre surrounding the agricultural homestead. Ag2School alleviates the cost of bond referendums for farmers and agricultural land owners without raising the cost for non-agricultural land owners. The Ag2School credit will pay for 15.8% ( approximately $1.73 million) of our referendum.

  • Yes. In addition to Ag2School, Minnesota also offers multiple other tax credits and deferrals that can reduce the impact of an approved referendum on your taxes, such as the Minnesota Homestead Credit Refund, Special Property Tax Refund, and the Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral. These credits and deferrals are subject to qualifications based on age, income, and tax burden.