Montevideo School District bonding proposal goes down by 23 votes in referendum Tuesday

Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

May 9—MONTEVIDEO — Voters in the Montevideo School District rejected two bond issues by the narrowest of margins in a referendum held Tuesday.

The district voters rejected a $54,860,000 bond issue to improve academic facilities by a 872 "yes" to 895 "no" tally, a 23-vote margin, according to an unofficial tally Tuesday night.

By a 866 "yes" to 897 "no" vote, they also turned down a $11,335,000 bond issue for an 800-seat auditorium and fine arts center that would be built on the high school campus. The second question could not pass unless the first was approved.

Superintendent Wade McKittrick said school board members would take some time to reflect on the results before deciding what to do next.

The academic project called for remodeling the current Middle School to hold grades K-4. The Sanford and Ramsey Elementary Schools would have been razed. The current high school would have been redeveloped for use as a grades 5-8 middle school. An addition would have been built to the north of the high school to serve as a new 9-12 high school.

The special election was the culmination of two years of facilities planning, a community survey, and numerous community engagement sessions, the school board stated in a news release announcing the results.

"Although the referendum did not receive voter approval, the Montevideo School District staff, administration and School Board express their sincere appreciation to the community for their feedback and engagement throughout the facilities planning process."

"While the result is not what we were hoping for, we appreciate the positive nature in which the community engaged in the brainstorming, planning and feedback sessions. Our commitment as a district remains the same, we will give all students, from cradle to career, a high-quality education by being innovative and engaging in two-way beneficial partnerships," said Superintendent McKittrick in the news release.

While the district-wide needs remain, the School Board noted they will take time to reflect and re-evaluate the proposed solution and re-engage the community when the next steps are determined. Community members are encouraged to continue to visit the district's website at www.montevideochools.org for updates.