Proposed building improvements, additions outlined

The school board is proposing a $33.175 million building bond referendum over 23 1/2 years to update and improve school buildings. The cost to taxpayers is estimated to be $25 per year per $100,000 of taxable market home value.

Both homestead and seasonal homeowners would be taxed because this is a building bond referendum, not an operating referendum. Seasonal residents are not taxed in operating referendums.

Renovations and building additions are what the school board considers as needs and are the result of the school district's strategic plan. That plan identified technology, curriculum and facilities as goals.

Overview of proposed renovations:

Relocate Early Childhood programs to Eagle View to create a prekindergarten-fourth grade school, which would include a classroom addition, remodeling and repurposing of program space.

Relocate fifth grade from Eagle View to Pequot Lakes Middle School, which would include building additions, remodeling and existing space repurposing.

Add science classes and gym space at the south end of the high school building. The gym addition would include locker rooms, weight room and classroom, and the community would have access to a walking/running track. Parking, the track and fields would be improved.

Relocate Community Education and the bus garage to a yet-to-be determined site.

All proposed work is planned to be completed by the fall of 2013.

Much of the remodeling and building additions would result in pods where teachers of the same subjects could better collaborate. The middle and high schools would become more secure, and would receive a remodeled library/media center, improved high school science labs and more computer labs. Dining/food service areas also would be expanded to be more efficient.

The proposal also addresses deferred maintenance issues, including roofing, boilers and indoor air quality. Administrators and school board members said those issues will have to be addressed, no matter what.