Posted 4/18/01
Vote to support North Branch schools in referendum
The North Branch School District will be putting two referendum questions before the voters in a special mailed election May 8, 2001. The first question on the ballot will concern the passage of a $23.5 million bond to allow the district to build a new, 1000-student elementary school and complete upgrades at the Primary School. The second will raise the operational levy per student to $439 for the next five years, allowing for technology upgrades within the district.
All of the districtís school buildings are at or near capacity at the present time. With an estimated enrollment growth of 2.5 percent annually over the next five years, the need for additional space is crucial.
During months of studying various facilities options, the district chose to propose the construction of a new elementary school, which was more economical than building a new middle school or high school. The new school would be built south of North Branch High School, on land already owned by the district. It would serve students in grades 3, 4 and 5 in a 135,000 square-foot building. If the referendum passes, the school could be built and ready for students in the fall of 2003. The district is looking at building a facility that is the same high quality as the high school, without spending extra money on unnecessary esthetics.
Ballots will be mailed to all registered voters within the district. By law, one regular polling place will be open that day, for residents who are uncomfortable with the mailed ballot process. Voters will need to mail their completed ballots back into the district before May 8. With passage of the referendum, taxes on a $100,000 home will increase by about $200, which computes to $16 more a month.
Without passage of the referendum, the district will face serious space issues next year, which will continue to escalate as the North Branch population increases. The district will be forced to consider increases in class sizes, leasing portable classrooms, cutting programs such as summer recreation and extracurricular activities, and looking into options such as year-round school, or split shifts.
The district says it will be in a crisis operational mode if the referendum fails, and all of the other options facing the district will only serve as temporary solutions to alleviate these problems. It is no secret that the North Branch area is growing. This is an opportunity to allow the school district to grow with the community, and to ensure that our children will be able to receive the same high quality education they currently receive in the North Branch schools.