The Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School District will ask voters for a $15.5 million facilities improvement bond this fall. The additional property tax would support improvements to the elementary building in Atwater and to the junior-senior high building in Grove City.
The Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School Board unanimously approved placing the proposal on the general election ballot Nov. 6 at its meeting July 23. If approved, the levy would remain in effect for 20 years, until 2029. The tax impact on a property valued at $100,000 would be approximately $60 per year, or $5 per month, based on a 4 percent interest rate, Superintendent Nels Onstad said.
The referendum follows a facility study last spring, when an evaluation of the school buildings determined a need for roof replacement, new sprinkler systems and masonry work, among other projects. Building maintenance, Superintendent Nels Onstad said, is becoming difficult to keep up with due to dated mechanical systems and aging infrastructure.
“The district is unable to keep up with the the maintenance needs with the available revenue,” Onstad said.
Nearly 75 percent of the project cost would go toward improving the 64-year-old elementary school, where administrators say structural and mechanical issues are the most significant. Among the aging infrastructure are a 25-year-old fire detection system, walls sustaining water damage and unreliable, improperly sized heating boilers. Some replacement parts, Onstad said, are extremely difficult or impossible to order due to age of systems.
A series of community meetings last month and a recent district wide survey determined the scope of the proposed renovation and deferred maintenance projects at the two sites, which have a total enrollment of 825 students. Board members agreed transparency and community input was essential to its multi-million-dollar proposal to bring the elementary school, built in 1954, to 21st century standards and to refurbish parts of the 22-year-old junior-senior high.
“The board is committed to making sure both buildings are maintained,” Onstad said.
Most of these projects, according to Onstad, are imminent needs, not wish-list items. While the referendum doesn’t support new books or other curricula, he said, improving the buildings would positively impact student learning and staff retention — not only appearance-wise, but by way of improved climate, lighting, security and safety features.
“Not only does it relate to student environment, but to the quality of teaching staff that we’re able to attract and retain,” Onstad said.
The November referendum, Onstad continued, “allows for a better teaching and learning environment for students and staff alike.” He added, administration and the school board are “also able to focus available resources on instruction.”
If approved, the levy would be one of two voter-issued funding sources for the district, which currently has in place an $805-per-pupil, voter-approved operating levy. Valid through fiscal year 2026, the operating levy was renewed in 2014.
If voters approve the bond, work could start in December 2019. Onstad said construction would not hinder learning environments at either building.
The school board originally considered a $14.8 million bond proposal for the general election ballot, but decided last month to ask for an additional $200,000 to purchase new furniture, fixtures and equipment for both school buildings.
Some of the classroom furniture is “very old,” Onstad said. “The board has reasoned that if we’re going to update the building and systems, we should update the furniture as well.”
“A beautiful facade with a 1954 classroom makes no sense,” board member Diane Rivard said. “If we’re going to do this, let’s just do it all and not have to go back and revisit it. Let’s do the complete package.”
AG TAX CREDIT
Unlike general operating levies, school building bonds don’t have valuation limits. However, a new tax credit would relieve farmers in the ACGC district by providing agricultural landowners a 40 percent reduction on taxes paid for the proposed bond.
Since January, ag landowners have seen a 40 percent reduction in their share of all existing and future school bond referendums with the Ag2School tax credit. Some 240,000 parcels of land in Minnesota qualify for the credit. These credits stack up to $40 million in tax relief across the state in 2018 alone, according to the Minnesota Rural Education Association.
A tax impact calculator will soon be available on the district’s website, Onstad said.
A GROWING NEED
Last year, the district secured $1 million in bonding for roofing and fire suppression projects, according to Onstad, but after taking a closer look, school officials discovered their list of imminent maintenance needs was far greater and would be impossible to address without additional financial support.
“We paused for a closer look,” Onstad said.
The district hired ICS Consulting, a firm from Blaine, Minnesota, to manage the project. Troy Miller of the Minneapolis firm LHB is the lead architect. After a thorough evaluation as well as conversations with Onstad, principals Kodi Goracke and Robin Wall, and buildings and grounds supervisor Tom Fordyce, both men recommended revamping much of the safety, security and electrical/mechanical systems in the two school buildings, along with some significant brick-and-motor improvements at the elementary building.
“We pulled together this number ($15.5 million), and said ‘Here’s what we think it would take,’” Miller said of bringing the buildings to code and updating their systems.
Miller said the work would drastically reduce the maintenance load at the elementary building. “The elementary school (would) be a nice facility, stem to stem,” he said.
PROPOSED PROJECTS
The proposed project would not involve a redesign, Onstad said; rather it would improve electrical and mechanical systems, building exteriors, interior finishes, safe and secure building entry, and fire suppression. The proposed work would bring these systems up to code and allow for timely replacement. About 20 percent of the total cost would go toward building accessibility.
“We’re taking what we have and making sure the maintenance needs are up to date,” Onstad said.
Several projects, including several at the elementary building, are also required for compliance with requirements set by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the state fire code.
Interior upgrades would include new flooring, paint, lighting, cabinetry and hardware. Dehumidification and air conditioning systems would be installed in both buildings, along with secured entrances.
An elevator would be installed at the elementary school for handicap accessibility to the second floor.
BOARD SAYS NO TO SINGLE CAMPUS, ADD-ONS
For the November ballot the board had also considered an additional question that would have financed an $8.9 million project to build a new gym, exercise facility and wrestling room and to improve the stadium. Considering the additional tax impact, the board decided not to pursue these projects at this time.
A proposal to combine the elementary and junior-senior high into a single campus for an estimated cost of $21 million (nearly a 40 percent increase from the current proposal), wasn’t supported by the vocal public at community meetings nor by the results of community surveys. About 70 percent of survey respondents supported keeping two campuses.
