White Bear Lake ISD school board recently approved putting a referendum on this falls ballot. The $326M price tag is set to be the largest in state history. From what I could find, the previous record was ~$250M in Anoka-Hennepin (Dist 11, the largest in the state with about 34k students). For comparison, WBL has about 8,600 students.
The details are a little hard to find but I plan to dig in. I'm all for supporting schools, however this feels like a BIG ask. I know other districts (Mounds View as an example) that recently went through similar processes and scaled back what was ultimately asked for. WBL seems to be asking for the whole cake now.
The largest ticket item is ~$175-180M for the high school. That seems to be about double what other NEW high schools cost. Could this be because of the boom in construction right now?
Related from earlier this spring: St Paul is having trouble with their similar plan.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/05/18/1 ... -estimate/
WBL link and summary below:18 buildings are expected to cost $179 million more than the $292 million estimate from three years earlier.
https://www.isd624.org/about/facilities ... our-future
What is a summary of the plan?
The plan is comprehensive in nature, creating a domino-effect of solutions to meet the broad needs identified by the committee. A summary of the committee’s recommendation consists of updates across the district, including:
- district-wide additions and renovations to accommodate projected enrollment growth,
- safety and security improvements and deferred maintenance projects at all district facilities,
- district-wide classroom and building updates to create flexible learning spaces.
The recommendation also includes plans for specific building changes to meet student enrollment and academic needs:
- a new K-5 elementary school being built in Hugo,
- Converting Oneka from grades 2-5 to a K-5 elementary and Hugo Elementary from grades K-1 to a northern Early Childhood location,
- the current grades 9-10 North Campus receiving an addition to become the district’s grade 9-12 high school,
- Sunrise Park Middle School moving to the current grades 11-12 South Campus location,
- the current Sunrise Park Middle School site becoming the site for various community programs including the Senior Center and Early Childhood programs currently housed at Normandy Park, the Transition Education Center currently located in leased space in Hugo, and the district office,
- Central Middle School expanding to take over the current District Center building.
The plan is both complex and comprehensive as it touches each of our buildings in some way.