Voters in western Minnesota's Montevideo School District to decide $54.86M, $11.34M bond issues Tuesday

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

May 8—MONTEVIDEO

— Voters in the Montevideo School District are going to the polls Tuesday, May 9, to decide on a

$54,860,000 bond issue to improve academic facilities and a $11,335,000 bond issue

for an 800-seat auditorium and fine arts center that would be built on the high school campus.

Voting in the special election will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the National Guard Training Community Center, 711 S. 17th St., Montevideo.

If approved, the academic project would remodel the current Middle School to hold grades K-4, while the existing Sanford and Ramsey elementary schools would be razed. The project would remodel the high school for use as a grades 5-8 middle school, and add an addition to the north to serve as a new 9-12 high school.

The fine arts question can only be approved if voters also approve question one for the academic facilities.

If approved, the state's Ag2School tax credit would significantly reduce the local tax share. The state would pay for 46% of the bond. If voters approve both issues for bonds of $66,195,00, the state share of that total would be $30,495,700.

The district has hosted five large-group presentations on the proposal in advance of the referendum. Superintendent Wade McKittrick and school board members have also joined with small groups of residents for 31 informal coffee meetings to describe the project