At the July 13 meeting, the Moorhead School Board voted to approve the district’s Review and Comment, which outlines the proposed $78.2 million in projects that will be going to the voters in November. The Review and Comment document must be submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education by Aug. 5, 2015.
An option to amend the Review and Comment document to include an additional $2 million to purchase a building will be considered at the Aug. 10 meeting. The building, which is not being identified at this time, would be used to house programs that are currently in leased space, said Brandon Lunak, assistant superintendent of finance and operations.
By purchasing a building using bond referendum funds, the district would be able to move Red River Area Learning Center, Adult Basic Education and Outreach from leased spaces into a district-owned facility, which has been a district priority. This would eliminate lease levy payments of approximately $177,000 a year over the course of the 20-year bond, saving district taxpayers more than $1.5 million during that time without factoring in inflation.
The $78.2 million in proposed construction projects are designed to improve security and safety at school entrances, reintegrate kindergarten back into the elementary school sites with additional kindergarten classrooms to accommodate all-day kindergarten, restore flexible learning spaces that have been lost the past few years, and add needed space to address the district’s growing elementary and middle school student population.
Architects from Zerr Berg and Michael Burns presented details of the renovations and the new facilities to the board during an afternoon work session prior to the regular meeting.
The proposal includes:
• Construction of a K-4 elementary school with a capacity of 750 students. The elementary school would be built on 17 acres of land to be purchased in the Horizon Shores area. The K-4 building would include 106,086 square feet at a cost of $25.6 million.
• Construction of a grades 5-6 addition to Horizon Middle School to create a middle school campus, including a performing arts center and a secure entrance. The addition to Horizon Middle School includes eight team areas with six classrooms in each (four houses at each grade level). The addition would include 191,380 square feet to serve 1,200 students at an estimated cost of $44.7 million.
• Remodel existing district buildings to improve the safety and security, remodel existing elementary schools to restore flexible learning environments, and renovate S.G. Reinertsen Elementary School to create equitable-sized elementary schools in the district. The renovation projects will cost $7.7 million, which covers the secure entrances at Probstfield and Moorhead High and the three current elementary schools. At the elementary schools, it also includes the remodel of the kindergarten classrooms and restoration of the flexible learning spaces.
The move to a K-4, 5-8, 9-12 grade configuration will allow Probstfield Center for Education to return to an early childhood center.
Projects architects explained that the Review and Comment document is intended to present the projects to the Department of Education for their review. More work will need to be done before projects would be finalized.
During the work session, the board further discussed possible boundary changes with the Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton School District. The board heard a report related to the financial impact of a re-alignment, which would
have resulted in Moorhead School District residents paying 2 percent higher property taxes because of the reduction to the district’s tax base.
More discussion will need to be held regarding any potential boundary changes to assure it is a win-win for both Moorhead and D-G-F districts, said Superintendent Lynne Kovash.