City, school district officials weigh in on building bond referendum issue

Posted 5/2/01

City, school district officials weigh in on building bond referendum issue

By Jason Sileo

The die is cast: thousands of mail-in ballots were sent out to eligible voters last week who will decide, within the next week, whether or not a new 1,000-student capacity elementary school will be built in North Branch.

Will the deal go through? Thatís up to you, the eligible voter.

District Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak said the lone voting poll must close on May 8 at 8 p.m. before a dozen or so official election judges may begin the arduous task of counting and tabulating an estimated 5,000 or so ballots the district expects to receive.

Those judges will likely work well into the midnight hours, and an official tally should be available to the public by the wee morning hours Wednesday.

The vote is two-fold: to build or not to build, and whether or not to finance additional resources for district technology education. Most agree both are needed, but there are wide differences of opinion of how much, when and where the proposed referendum funds should be put.

Some people donít want and/or canít afford higher taxes for the school districtís sake, others recognize and accept the schoolsí needs but feel a new building should be placed outside of North Branch. Others wonder why the district isnít asking for more up front than it already is. Build one, 1,000-student school... or two, 500-student buildings? Build one in North Branch, or build one in Almelund and another in Stacy? Build nothing at all and wait? The questions by far outnumber the answers.

Obviously, nothing comes easy when it comes to planning and then seeking a building referendum, and district officials say they closely scrutinized every option before coming up with the proposals on the May ballots.

Building two schools, Dr. Stepaniak said, would cost an additional four to five million dollars on top of the $23.5 million now being sought ó and it would probably double the future operating costs (staffing, maintenance, energy costs, etc.) for the district.

Building the new school in North Branch also made the most sense because thatís where the greatest population is located for now.

Stacy Mayor Kathi Lawrence said she is not pleased with the districtís decision, should the referendum pass, to build the new school in North Branch. Lawrence said smaller towns within the district, like Stacy, Almelund and Harris, deserve a chunk of the identity which comes along with a district building project.

Building two, smaller schools, she said, would facilitate the districtís space needs while providing additional opportunities to kids in those ëoutlyingí areas. Lawrence said she was afraid money was getting in the way of the best interest of the kids in the district.

ěIs money really the sole issue?î she asked. ěShouldnít it be whatís in the best interest of the kids? Is it in the best interest of these kids to be bussed and then put into a bigger building that is less secure ó that has higher volume and is therefore more trouble?î

Lawrence said the district, should the growth here cease any time soon, would someday not be able to operate or fill a 1,000-student school.
ěI would rather see two schools built outside of North Branch,î she said. ěThen they donít take the risk of having a school too big that weíre going to end up closing downî because it canít be filled. ěYou know, weíre in this big boom now, but the kids are going to grow up...î

Mayor Lawrence said she felt many residents in Stacy feel slighted by the districtís plans to use tax dollars supplied by outlying areas to build in North Branch. The voting system, too, came under the mayorís fire.

ěThe way theyíre presenting this vote: if you donít vote, thatís as good as a ëyesí vote,î Lawrence said. ěIf people know this and realize their taxes are going to go higher yet...î

ěWeíve got a lot of people in this community who donít think itís fair for (the district) to build another school up there when our sense of community is at stake,î Mayor Lawrence said. ěWeíre trying to build Stacy up; weíre not trying to help North Branch prosper.î

Superintendent Stepaniak indicated the decisions on where to build and why were based on simply rules of supply and demand. The district, also, already owns the land where it is proposing to build.
ěWe put the facilities where most of the people have reasonable access to them,î Stepaniak said. ěSchool districts respond to where the growth is.î
Stepaniak said feelings like the mayorís are fairly common in situations where multiple communities form a conglomerate district. He said it is unfortunate, but simply part of the program.

Stepaniak said the district expects to continue its trend in growth for at least another 10 years, and that no one can predict the future much further out beyond that. The chance of a declining enrollment trend in North Branch any time soon, he said, are ěextremely remote.î

The school board has two representatives from the southern tier of the district, he said, and both agree with the proposals now being voted on.
ěWe have to go where the kids are and where the greatest number of families will benefit,î he said. ěRight now, that happens to be here.î

When asked about the districtís optimism regarding the passage of the referendum, Stepaniak said, ěWe really donít know. We have no idea.î

On the city of North Branchís end, Mayor John Pinsonneault said he thought the city, though discussion at that level had thus far been ěminimal,î generally was in favor of the referendumís passage, and he said he thought it would.

Regarding the district, ěI think the cityís been supportive and understanding with what theyíre trying to do,î Mayor Pinsonneault said. ěI donít think anyoneís lobbying either way on this one. Overall, I think the city looks at it as a positive situation. My perception is that most of the community is understanding and accepting of it.î
Pinsonneault said his most pressing misgivings surrounded the effect of increased taxation on those with lower or fixed income figures in the city and surrounding municipalities.

ěThere is no right or wrong answer there,î he said, since lines cannot be drawn through who will pay additional taxes and who wonít.

But, he said, ěWe all have to pay for it. Thereís no doubt about that; and if we wait another three or five years to build it, it isnít going to be any cheaper. Fortunately or unfortunately, the school has been dealt a hand by the growth of the community.î

ěBut I think itís going to be positive,î Pinsonneault said. ěYou start taking away programs and crowding the classrooms... itís not a positive thing for our kids. If you overcrowd schools itís just a bad deal...î

Mayor Pinsonneault said the calls he has taken at his office have generally been positive, and have been resoundingly constructive in nature. Most have been in favor of moving forward, as he himself is.
ěPersonally, Iím in favor of it,î he said. ěAs a taxpayer, I want that,î because it will only serve to further strengthen an already sturdy school district.

Between the building and technology issues, Mayor Pinsonneault said: ěThe kids coming up, today... they deserve the privilege of going to a quality school; where the classrooms, programs and teachers are quality. The schools have to keep pace with that. I donít see how we could possibly say no to that.î