You asked...
*With the current economy, is this a good time for a bond/construction? Can local contractors bid on the new construction and do we really have enough room in the new plan?
Superintendent Madsen, the school board and the architect have determined that the proposed plan has enough space to accommodate our K-12 curriculum. This plan will actually downsize our current square footage of the district by nearly 50,000 unnecessary square feet. Projects similar to this one, built in 2009, have been coming in at bid time 10-20% less than the estimated cost due to the lack of construction work in our area. Bonding rates are at an all time low which means the interest we pay back on the bonds will be less than if we did this in other years. Our local contractors will be able to bid the work according to public bidding laws. This will provide jobs in a depressed economy. This project will also create activity for local businesses into 2011 as construction workers utilize our available resources for food, vehicle maintenance, shopping, etc...
*Are the surrounding districts such as Bertha-Hewitt or Browerville at capacity or do they have room for our current student population if we dissolved or consolidated?
Neither Bertha-Hewitt or Browerville school districts currently have space for over 300 students. These schools would either need to add to their existing buildings (which we would help pay for), or if consolidation were to occur, they would take on our current buildings. In order to comply with Minnesota state standards, they would then need to complete the work currently needed on our facilities to bring them up to standards to use them. This would likely lead to a levy referendum, which we as taxpayers will pay for even though we no longer have our own Eagle Valley school district. In each case, taxes are likely to be increased, and we lose our Eagle Valley identity.