ABOVE: Martin County West High School in Sherburn. The district is looking to pass a bond referendum for a new school building which would be located at the site of the current high school but house all students in the district.

SHERBURN– Those in the Martin County West School District have the opportunity to vote in a second school facility bond referendum. While early voting opened on March 29, the election will be held on May 14.

The district has four school buildings and currently has students spread across three. Sherburn Elementary School houses those in preschool through 2nd grade, Trimont Middle School has 3rd through 6th grade, along with a few preschool classes and Martin County West High School in Sherburn has 7th through 12th grade students. The school building in Welcome has not had students in it for a number of years though it has been used for other reasons and the district has been waiting for funds to demolish it.

The three main drivers behind the ask for a new building are the budget, the condition of the current buildings and the adequacy of those buildings to provide the education the district wants to give students.

In November of 2023, voters in the district were first faced with two questions, the first asking to pass a bond referendum on the construction of a new school which would house all students in the district and the second question asked voters to support an auditorium and additional gym.

Superintendent Cori Reynolds shared that at the November election, both votes failed by a margin of just about 50 votes.

“We had 65 percent voter turnout, which is amazing, especially in an off-year election. People were keyed into the conversation,” Reynolds said.

Since the results came in, the school board has been considering its options.

“Overall the board came to the conclusion that 50 votes doesn’t mean we have the wrong plan, it means we maybe need to do more outreach and let more people know,” Reynolds said.

The approach of the board has been different, too. Two community open houses have been held– one in March and one in April and Reynolds said good conversation happened at them and that between the two about 150 people attended. At the open houses some preliminary concept drawings were available so that people could visualize it. ISG, the architect firm on the project and R.A. Morton, the construction firm, was also present so that people could ask questions.

“We’ve done some short video clips on our social media and have been putting out some small factoids to inform people,” Reynolds said.

She said the board has also been hammering out the why for the vote.

“It’s about fiscal sustainability. This is what it appears the school district needs to be prepared for our current and future students to operate within the resources we have,” Reynolds said.

The cost of the project has changed as the board has worked on tightening up spaces and decreasing the square footage. The new cost of the bond referendum for a new building is now $64.7 million, up slightly from $63 million the first time around.

“Unfortunately inflation and the shift in construction time means that question one is a higher price tag even though it’s a smaller building,” Reynolds said.

However, the cost of the project dealing with the second question is less, going from $9 million to $2.04 million as the addition of an auditorium was removed. If the second vote

passes, another auxiliary gym would be added to the new school building.

“So overall, if the two questions were to pass it would overall be less than the first time,” Reynolds said.

The cost of the bonds to individuals has also gone down as the district’s net tax capacity went up, which means the bond amount will be spread across more property.

For example, a residential homestead with an estimated market value of $150,000 will cost $269 annually, or $22.41 per month over 20 years (at a 5 percent interest rate) if question one passes. If the second question also passes, the cost for an individual with the same estimated market value will be $9 annually or 75 cents per month.

In the event that the first or both questions pass, Reynolds said they would move forward right away by putting together a committee to work with the architects on a plan to design a building that fits the community’s needs.

“It’s a nine month to a year process to design the building and start going out for bids,” Reynolds said.

If it fails, there is potential for it to go to another vote.

“At some point the board may need to think of interim solutions. Which could mean some drastic budget cuts or continuing to spend down the district’s funds or asking voters for an operating levy,” Reynolds said.

Charts which have information on the tax impact for an operating levy are also out there. They show that a residential homestead with an estimated market value of $150,000 would have a $273.87 estimated annual property tax increase.

As it would be for those in the school district with one building, $1.3 million in operating costs would be saved each year, due to the end of duplication of staff in three buildings and the maintenance on three buildings.

“Two buildings in two different towns is stressful on our system and it ends up costing us a lot of money,” Reynolds said.

She said that some staff and busses travel between Trimont and Sherburn and right now with the construction on Hwy 4 the travel time takes longer to go through the detour.

Reynolds stressed that the district’s objective isn’t to sway the vote one way or another, but to present the information to voters. However she did note that there are strong advocates on both sides of the vote who believe that they want what is best for the district.

“From what I’ve seen, the vote yes committee’s main message is that a one building plan makes sense for Martin County West. The vote no group has concerns about the size of the building, the amount of money and the enrollment number in the school district,” Reynolds said.

She agreed that it is a lot of money and that the district has seen declining enrollment, which are matters the board has wrestled with, too.

“The difference is some people have been assured by the response the district gives to those concerns,” Reynolds said.

There are currently about 700 students enrolled in the district and 130 staff spread across the three buildings. Reynolds said that despite the number of students, the district has a responsibility to provide a good education to them.

There are four polling paces this time around, which is another change from the first vote as the board wanted to make sure that people didn’t have to travel terribly far to get to polling place. Polling places are at Trimont City Hall, Martin County West High School, City of Welcome and Dunnell City Hall.

All in all, the board and would like to see people show up on election day and make their voice heard, no matter what side of the matter they’re on. More information and statistics on the matter can be found on the district’s website at martin.k12.mn.us.