FAQS

As a rural school system that provides great opportunities, we work hard to use space and resources wisely.  However, we have reached the point where new investments are needed to sustain student success and maintain the community’s investment in the school building.

Click here to learn more about the needs of the school building project

The plan meets the following needs identified by community members, staff, and field experts:

*Construction of a main secure entrance that is safe, obvious, and intuitive for day and night use

*Secures elementary and district office entrances

*Improves safety and traffic flow for parents to pick-up and drop-off children

*Addresses accessibility concerns to our school, especially for senior citizens and grandparents who want to attend school and community events

*Provides a State of MN required tornado storm shelter that will be available for school and community use.

*Complete replacement of the current HVAC system. A new heating and cooling system across the entire building that will have added energy efficiency, eliminate outdated equipment, controls, steam system, and expensive repairs dependent upon hard to find parts.  Classroom noise issues will be addressed.

*Convert the existing 1926 elementary school gymnasium into a career and technical education trades, auto shop, and construct and equip a new replacement gymnasium

*Addresses much needed locker room and shower improvements and include handicap accessibility

*Addresses undersized cafeteria and early kindergarten lunch time (10:45 a.m.)

*Adds much needed green space with property acquisition

*Maintains a single PreK-12 School that is more parent and community accessible with greater operational efficiencies

Click here to learn more about the plan of the school building project

The school district spent over a year evaluating our schools’ needs and received community input to help refine the plan.  Thoughtful consideration has been put into correctly identifying the needs in our building.  This includes:

*Detailed Facility Assessment conducted by ISG

*12 School Facility Task Force sessions

*3 Community Informational Meetings and Listening Sessions and 1 Open House

*Community Survey to All Springfield School District Residents:  631 responses

*2 Follow-up Task Force Meetings based upon Survey Response Data.

 The assessments, listening sessions, and survey feedback aided the District and the School Facility Task Force in identifying and prioritizing facility and educational needs.  The proposed bond referendum improvements have been developed to address the most critical and urgent needs within the district facilities.

The school bond referendum asks voters to approve two ballot questions totaling $19,765,000.  The first question requests building bonds not to exceed $17,665,000 and the second question requests bonds not to exceed $2,100,000.

The first ballot question for $17,665,000 is to provide funds for the acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities, including the construction of a main secure entrance, a required tornado/storm shelter, and other safety, security, and accessibility improvements; acquisition and installation of HVAC improvements to school facilities; the acquisition of land for school improvements; the renovation and interior modifications necessary to convert the existing elementary school gymnasium for use for career and technical education trades and auto shop and the construction and equipping of a new school gymnasium addition.

The second question for $2,100,000 is to provide funds for the construction and improvement of new locker rooms and the renovation and repurposing of existing locker rooms and spaces for use for cafeteria improvements and school programming needs.

The needs addressed within the ballot questions were identified by the community as a priority as well as the tax threshold. As per MN 2020 building code for schools, new construction is to include a tornado shelter rated to withstand a 250 mph tornado.  The school district has applied for a $1.460M FEMA grant to reduce the $17.665M Question 1 bond amount accordingly. 

Click here to learn more about the cost of the school building project

Because we listened to our stakeholders.  The District participation by our stakeholders through our community survey shattered other districts participation records.  Survey data identified that support existed to pursue a bond referendum to address physical needs of the building and also identified that the tax impact the simple majority would support and where Ag land owners and municipal residents statistically agreed.  The facility task force worked to reprioritize the list and scope of potential projects in the conceptual site plan to focus on the following projects:  improve school safety and security; update building HVAC system; renovate the 1926 gym for use as Career and Technical Education (CTE) auto shop and construction trades shop space and construction of a replacement gymnasium; address cafeteria and locker room needs.  The walking track and theater support space was not included in the revised plan as those items did not have a preponderance of community support.  As of March 2020, the State of MN building code has required a tornado shelter to be included in any new school construction.  ISG architects studied the current school facility and have identified the current building does not have any space that meets the shelter specifications.

Click here to learn more about the plan of the school building project

The Facility Task Force did study the cost of constructing a new building by the greenhouse to house an auto and construction trades shop for our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.  The cost estimate for this CTE building to house these two programs exceeded $2.4 million.  Repurposing the 1926 gymnasium for CTE shop space would save $1.4 million dollars.  The 1926 gym lacks the volume and ability to meet the demands of our school day and after school youth programming and would be a resourceful use of that building section. 

If a new CTE building was created, it would more than likely be located in a parking lot.  This concept would solve one problem, but create a new problem as our landlocked school has insufficient parking space.  This would require construction of a new gymnasium, but that was weighed as a better long term solution for the District.

The Facility Task Force did study the cost of constructing a new building by the greenhouse to house an auto and construction trades shop for our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The cost estimate for this CTE building to house these two programs exceeded $2.4 million. Repurposing the 1926 gymnasium for CTE shop space would save $1.4 million dollars. The 1926 gym lacks the volume and ability to meet the demands of our school day and after school youth programming and would be a resourceful use of that building section. This would require construction of a new gymnasium, but that was weighed as a better long term solution for the District.

In Minnesota, voters decide whether school districts can increase property taxes to pay for the bonds used for renovating, constructing, and equipping school buildings.  Like a loan on a car or a mortgage on a house, the bonds need to be repaid over time plus interest. The February 9, 2021 vote is for a bond referendum.

Levies are for learning and bonds are for building.  Operating levies are a legally separate funding stream that voters can approve to support classrooms and educational programs.  The February 9, 2021 vote is for a bond referendum.

New investments are needed to meet today’s programming needs.  The last major investment in the school facility was decided in 1992, almost thirty years ago.  The school mechanical system is outdated and problematic.  Programming needs for students have added demands on trades and shop classes where our current facility has no indoor auto shop bay or large project construction area.  Being a northern climate high school having these classes indoors is necessary.  Programming demands of our youth activities has more than quadrupled the after school demand placed on our gymnasiums as compared to 1961, the last year a gymnasium project was completed. 

This is the right time as:   the District is debt-free; the District’s revenue from local tax burden is in the bottom 5% of Minnesota school districts; interest rates are at historic lows; these projects would qualify for Ag2School Tax Credit where the state of Minnesota share of the tax burden of a 20 year bond benefiting our school and community would exceed 51%.

The Springfield School District continues to thrive, adding to the quality of life for residents and making our communities stronger.  The plan seeks to improve both education for students and community accessibility to our school.  The plan seeks to provide better educational opportunities for students to acquire skills and interest in hard to find trades needed locally in the Springfield area.  This plan would help us ‘grow our own’ to fill these workforce demands.

The success of our School District is grounded in the local people who support it. True to our founding fathers’ principles, we believe every child deserves a quality education and that learning matters. Achieving this goal requires continuous and broad community support and involvement by everyone—students, educators, families, business people, farmers, industry, commercial and senior citizens.  

Education is worth the investment as it benefits the economy and your local community.  It improves people’s ability to function as a responsible members of a community, improves lifelong earnings, reduces crime, and has been shown to increase economic growth and stability.   Our children become future leaders of our community and investing in them improves the future for all. 

Currently, our buildings do not meet today’s standards for school safety and security.  Visitors to our buildings are not directed to a central, controlled, and secure entrance during the school day.  This would allow staff to have direct supervision over who is in the building.  The District wants the school to be used by the community, but during the school day we want students protected to the greatest extent.

The CRTC building was officially known as the Cottonwood River Cooperative Center and was jointly owned and operated by the 3 following school districts beginning in 1973:  Sleepy Eye; Red Rock Central (Lamberton initially); and Springfield.  The Sleepy Eye School District chose to discontinue their participation in this program and the Springfield and Red Rock Central School Districts continued to operate programming at the CRTC building for a couple years thereafter.  Additionally, Red Rock Central developed their own facility and program.  The operation of the facility was not feasible for the Springfield School District to operate alone and the sale of the property occurred so the assets among the partnering school districts could be divided equally. 

The CRTC building was purchased from the partnering school districts by Ochs Brick Company in 2005 and then sold to Schwanke Engines in 2011.   The school district did not have the programming, staffing, or resources to reacquire and maintain this building either time.

The estimated tax impact of both questions on the average homeowner ($85,000 value home) is less than $10 per month.

Click here to learn more about how this project will impact your taxes.

Farmers and Ag Land owners will benefit from the Ag2School Tax Credit. These projects would qualify for the Ag2School Property Tax Relief Bill. This bill, passed in May 2019, will reduce property taxes paid on agricultural land for school improvements by 55% in 2021, 60% in 2022, and 70% for taxes payable in 2023 and beyond. The state’s share of the tax burden of a 20-year bonded project benefiting our school community would exceed 50%.

Click here to learn more about the Ag2School Tax credit program 

New school construction projects are now required to include a FEMA rated tornado shelter.  In response, the school district applied for a $1.460M FEMA grant on 11/25/2020 for FEMA eligible related project costs. FEMA funds will be used to subsidize the total project cost and applied to the bond principal in Question 1.  Reducing the tax impact.

Farmers and Ag Land owners will benefit from the Ag2School Tax Credit. These projects would qualify for the Ag2School Property Tax Relief Bill. This bill, passed in May 2019, will reduce property taxes paid on agricultural land for school improvements by 60% in 2022, and 70% for taxes payable in 2023 and beyond. The state’s share of the tax burden of a 20-year bonded project benefiting our school community would exceed 51%. 

Click here to learn more about the Ag2school credit

The Ag2School Tax Credit is Permanent Law. It would take an act of both bodies of legislature and a signature by the Governor to amend or repeal the program.

House Tax Chair Marquart (DFL), “The credit for taxes paid on agricultural production land, known as Ag2School, was passed with broad bi-partisan support. Ag2School creates more equity for kids, farmers and school personnel as they work to educate the next generation of students. Ag2School is part of the state’s forecasted budget base. It would take an act of the House, Senate, and signature by the Governor to diminish this sound program. Simply put, Ag2School is here to stay.” Source MREA.

Senate Tax Chair Chamberlain (GOP), “Tax credits such as the Ag2School, never go away once they are started. It will not happen. Minnesota needs a vibrant rural economy to thrive as a state.” Source MREA.

Our School District needs are now and the cost to address them will compound each year we wait.  What we know today are 1) 2021 cost estimates for our proposed project and 2) that interest rates are incredibly low.  Waiting until 2023 would significantly increase our project costs due to inflation and interest rates are almost certain to be higher.  The increased project costs would supersede savings in tax credits, making now the most fiscally responsible time to propose a referendum.

The District explored this option and placed this question on our community survey.  A new school building would help address many issues efficiently, but the concept was too costly and would abandon the community investment and the resources the District has put toward maintaining the current facility.  The School Facility Task Force and School Board expressed that there is great value in having a single PreK-12 site within the community and would prefer to expand space around the current site versus relocating outside of the town.

Yes.  There would be property purchased to the east of the elementary school.  The District is working with the property owners to ensure proper steps can be taken if the referendum passes.

If the referendum fails, the Springfield School District will have to find different ways to address the facility issues.  The school board has concluded that our needs are too great to ignore and will become costlier the longer we wait.   Our school will continue to age.  We will continue to spend more money out of our operating budget each year to make necessary repairs and maintenance for recurring issues.  Those funds can’t keep up with the demands of our old building areas and best used for classroom education rather than patching issues that should receive a permanent fix.  Average building age is 59 years old.

If our District does not meet programming demands, it will negatively impact our school and community where Springfield School District may no longer be the area ‘school of choice’.  Open-enrollment allows families to seek schooling elsewhere.  Families open-enrolling out of district negatively impacts our school and local economy.  To attract families, we must realize they will always look first to the qualities of the school system when identifying which community they want to raise their family. 

The school is one of the greatest assets of our community and provides the greatest economic payback on your investment and won’t leave the community.

The District works hard at maintaining the current facility envelope and mechanical system.  The District incrementally replaces roof sections that are in need, updating lighting systems for greater efficiency, maintains the brick exterior with periodic tuck-pointing, and makes repairs to the HVAC mechanical system when necessary.  The repairs for our outdated and inefficient mechanical system are becoming costlier with longer wait times for parts.  Repairs need to be made as our teachers and children depend upon a conducive learning environment. Space heaters have been necessary for classrooms as repair wait time may be more than 6 weeks.

The last operating levy referendum was in November of 2013 which was approved by the community.  The last bond referendum was approved in December of 1992, more than 27 years ago, and is the longest time period between any school building project in Springfield School District history.  

A February election will allow the Springfield School District to take advantage of an optimal design and bid window where we can seek competitive bids later in the year allowing work to begin the Spring of 2023.  The school board is making necessary arrangements to allow for early/absentee voting beginning December 28^th to prevent any conflicts that could occur with spring farming and other spring activities.

The Springfield School District will retain professional architect and construction manager services to assist with this project.

By law, any school project with a value greater than $100,000 must be bid and awarded to the lowest bidder.  While local preference is not permitted, companies from this region will be notified and able to bid on the project work or obtain subcontracts for work.

State law does not permit different facility options to be presented to voters at the same time.  We are to be definitive.

Healthier and safer schools that are designed to today’s standards, with 21^st century curriculum and learning opportunities, is a responsibility we all have to provide the children in our community.  Educational standards and workforce demands change over time, and we must adapt our school to meet those standards.  We must work to prepare students for their future, not our past.

Providing career-oriented opportunities for students that will enter the job market shortly after graduation is a direct benefit to the student and our local businesses and economy. 

Student engagement in school activities is vitally important to the well-being and healthy development of children so they will become life-long learners and future leaders of our community.

The needs and demands for gymnasium space is based upon our physical education, indoor recess, and youth programming demands.  The school district is open to making the new gymnasium space as a competition gymnasium, if that is what the community wants.  The school district project cost estimates for the site plan would allow this gym to be at least a 2 station gymnasium and to have it built with the flexibility for it to serve as a future competition gymnasium.  Reasonably, addressing the locker room needs by building new through passage of ballot question #2 for $2.02 million would be important for this to make functional sense.  The school district wants to ensure that we expand capacity and address our youngest learners are practicing late in the evening.

The 1926 gymnasium that is used currently for youth programs is a 1 station gymnasium and would be renovated to serve as an automotive shop and construction trades shop for our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

The school district’s goal is to ‘get it right’ and will communicate and work to ensure we do just that.

The space needs that exist are based upon programming needs and the lack of space to facilitate them.   Specific program needs are auto and construction trades shop space and gymnasium space.  The most efficient way to address these needs is to repurpose the 1926 one court gymnasium into an auto and trades shop and build a new gymnasium to facilitate the added demands seen during and after the school day.  Enrollment has remained very steady over the past decade.

We value our local business owners and farmers.  Residents need to determine whether the benefits of this plan justify the costs-that is why we are holding a referendum.  Facility infrastructure projects and construction projects are less expensive when done at the same time than when done piecemeal over a number of years. Just like remodeling our homes, doing all these projects together will save the Springfield School District taxpayers money.

Local business owners depend upon having a high-quality workforce.  Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce.  Dedicated instructors and today’s students play a critical role in making our future productive and local businesses profitable.  Access to a skilled workforce is why many businesses choose to stay in our area.

Click here to learn more about the cost of the school building project

We could. However, the plan will continue to get more expensive as our needs grow and we will continue to spend money each year on maintenance projects, using operating dollars that may have been kept in our classrooms.

We welcome all comments, questions, and feedback about the proposed referendum.   Questions and comments can be submitted on the District’s referendum website or by contacting Superintendent Keith Kottke at keith.kottke@springfield.mntm.org or 507-723-4283.  Please visit other links on our school website for more information and resources.

Yes. The sample ballot can be reviewed [here].

Click here to view a sample ballot.

Election Day for this two-question referendum will be held on Tuesday, February 9th. You may register and vote early from December 28^th through February 8^th in the District Office. Voting on February 9th will take place at the Springfield Community Center(33 South Cass Avenue, Springfield MN 56087).