Approximately 165 people attended the Blue Earth Area School District Community Information Meeting concerning an upcoming school facility bond vote that will be on Aug. 11.

The meeting was held this past Thursday evening, May 28, at Pemberton Auditorium.

BEA superintendent Mandy Fletcher led the meeting and started it off by saying that there would be not one, but two bond referendum questions on the ballot on Aug. 11.

Question 1 asks for a $63.31 million referendum to build a new PreK-6 grade elementary school, decommission the current PreK-7 building, and re-purpose space at the high school to serve seventh grade students.

Question 2 asks for a $10.3 million bond to build a multi-purpose space attached to the new elementary school and update the HVAC system at the high school.

“Question 2 can only pass if Question 1 first passes,” Fletcher explained. “It cannot be passed on its own.”

Fletcher then explained that the current PreK-7 school building needs $55.15 million in updates in the next 10 years, with $42.08 million of that being what is called critical needs.

Fletcher went through a detailed list of what all of those items are, which included the interior items, plumbing issues, mobility problems and HVAC repairs.

“The boiler system went down overnight this past school year,” Fletcher said. “If it happens again, we will have to close the school for the day.”

She also asked those in attendance to look at the ceiling in Pemberton Auditorium, and said it is very dirty, but cleaning it is a multi-million-dollar issue due to the removal of asbestos.

The high school, now 32 years old, also needs some $6 million in updates, especially for the HVAC system, which was only meant to last 25 years.

“There are also safety concerns with the Pre-K-7 building, Fletcher said. Those include traffic before and after school, secure entrances for visitor management and water and pest issues, she explained. “We surveyed the staff last November and safety was their No. 1 concern,” she said.

Fletcher also went into detail on the cost of the new school project to taxpayers.

“The state of Minnesota will cover almost half the project cost with their Ag2School Tax Credit Program,” Fletcher said. “It will cover 46 percent of the bond referendum’s total principal and interest.”

That tax credit reduces the burden for agricultural property owners on any existing or future school building bonds.

The superintendent talked about the impact that would have on all the taxpayers in the district, and urged district residents to check a tax calculator on the school’s website that tells the impact of the project on each parcel of property. For instance, on a $100,000 home it would be $82.88 per year. On a $200,000 home it would be $227.41 per year for 25 years.

There was time for questions and there were several from the public in attendance. They included several about what would happen to the current school building.

Fletcher explained that there is $2 million in the project total for the decommissioning, meaning demolition, of the current site. Then it would be available for any future projects by individuals or businesses or the city.

After the one-hour meeting, there were guided tours of the whole PreK-7 set of buildings, some of which are 100- and 75-years old, and are on multi-floor levels.

“We want to create a better learning environment for our students,” Fletcher said.

Complete info on the bond referendum vote is on the BEA website.