R-P to Vote on Building Referendum in November

Superintendent Dr. Ben Bernard presented the results and recommendations of the Steering Committee for a possible building project at the May 19 regular Rushford-Peterson school board meeting. Three meetings were held on April 30, May 5, and May 14 with an average attendance of 20 people. Members of the committee had been solicited from the entire community. According to Bernard, the group was very positive. 

In answer to the question, “What and why are additions needed?” Bernard reported that the high school has no empty rooms and the elementary has one supplemental room for SPED available. He succinctly stated, “We’re full.” Last year saw a 26 student increase in enrollment. Bernard noted that the school facilities are a major draw.

The current gyms and sports spaces have three P.E. teachers sharing the two gyms; dance has no dedicated space for practice, wrestling shares space with softball and baseball, youth sports have to practice on weekends or Wednesday nights after 6:15 p.m. 

There are no dedicated spaces for the maintenance staff to maintain or repair items. Currently there is one room for daycare with a capacity of 25. The daycare is full and Good Shepherd has seven families on their waitlist. 

If a building project is completed there will be increased space for programming. The reason the district is investigating this at this time is that there is still funding available from the state disaster relief funding that R-P accessed when building the current facility. 

Bernard pointed out that each student added to the school is equal to about $10,000 a year for the district. In addition, local businesses gain revenue from visitors to tournaments and events.

The recommendation of the steering committee was to build a one-story daycare addition that could serve 42 more children, add a two-station gym which would have two full basketball courts, add four classrooms to the elementary school which would provide for three sections up to fourth grade and add a space for CAD classes and 3D printing. 

The cost for such an addition would be around $22 million, which would maximize the use of the disaster relief funding. $8.2 million is available from the state. The anticipated tax impact for residents owning a $250,000 house would be around $136 a year. This referendum would also take care of needed repairs and maintenance of the lighting and security system as well. 

Members of the steering committee spoke up in favor of the project. Some opined that if the daycare was added, more students may be retained at the school and that there was a definite need for daycare in Rushford. They also pointed out that if classrooms weren’t added, class sizes may need to be limited. Several noted that they had come into the meetings feeling somewhat negative about the project, but changed their minds as they learned more about it. 

Matt Helgemoe commented that without the available disaster relief funding they wouldn’t even be talking about it. “The classes we are able to offer are incredible. We have to inform the public about this opportunity,” he declared.

Chris Grindland was concerned about how an operating referendum request would be received if this building referendum goes through. Ken Sawle said he had the same concerns, but felt this was an opportunity to take a leap of faith. The board was also concerned about availability of building sites and homes for new families. 

Ultimately, the board unanimously voted to present the building project to the public for a vote in November. Community members will be able to learn all about the proposed building at multiple community informational meetings; tours will be given at the school as well.  

Business Conducted

Other business conducted by the school board included:

• Approving MSHSL membership;
• Approving the sports co-op agreement with Houston School;
• Accepting the insurance proposal from Valerie Insurance for property, liability, cyber and workman’s compensation insurance;
• Approved the revised budget for 2024-2025; Bernard noted that the General Fund balance was up by $30,000 from what was expected;
• Accepted donations totalling $7,974;
• Accepted the resignation of Diane Eide, a kitchen employee, and the resignations of Brenda Bergman, MS Student Council advisor, and Jenny Helgemoe, MS/HS counselor;
• Hired Steve Hanson, custodian, and Andrea Larson, long term sub for MS SPED;
• Approved the targeted/ satellite services agreement with HVED.