Voters delivered what appeared to be a death knell for the newly consolidated Oldham-Ramona-Rutland school district last month when they resoundingly rejected an $18.8M bond issue to build a new consolidated school building that would realize the cost savings that make consolidation worthwhile.
But the ORR school board isn’t surrendering yet. The board has pared 15% off the price tag:
During last Wednesday’s special meeting, the board heard a presentation from Tom Oster of Dakota Education Consulting and Co-Op Architects along with Co-Op’s Principal Architect Kyle Raph, who had identified cuts to the project to lower the bond from $18.8 million to $15.95 million.
These cuts were recommended through discussions with the district’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, with the reduction in cost coming from scaling back the scope of the school’s playground and athletics fields. Originally, the board had planned to construct a stadium-style complex for football and track, yet the board decided they could make these additions through their capital outlay budget at a later date.
ORR Board President Lance Hageman explained that the decision boiled down the district prioritizing academics over athletics, as the education of their students is their chief concern, especially when the fields can be improved through alternative means down the road [Zac Zwaschka, “Key Decisions Await ORR Board,” Madison Daily Leader, 2023.10.10 ].
and, at its October 11 meeting, called for another bond vote on December 12:
The Dec. 12 vote concerns a $15.95 million General Obligation (GO) Bond, which will be used alongside capital outlay certificates and on-hand cash from the district to establish a new, shared school at the northwest corner of US-81 and 223rd Street. If passed, the bond would be financed over a 30-year period.
…As it stands, if the bond vote is passed on Dec. 12, the new school will ideally open in the second semester of the 2025-26 school year. Hageman explained that the district’s current budget will allow them to maintain both K-12 facilities up to this point, yet if the vote fails, the board may be forced to reconsider dividing the sites by grade level to save costs [Zac Zwaschka, “ORR Bond Vote to Return to Original Polling Sites,” Madison Daily Leader, 2023.10.16].
…Despite the fact that their own September survey of registered voters in the district indicates they don’t stand much chance of persuading voters to change their minds:
The survey indicates that a second bond issue for a school at the same central location on Highway 81 won’t even win 50% of the vote, never mind the minority-coddling 60% necessary to pass the bond issue. And that’s the most appealing option: proposing a new location closer to one side or the other of the district would go down in absolute flames (97%+ rejection of something closer to Oldham and Ramona, 76%+ rejection of something closer to Rutland).
Maybe dangling actual cost savings—or more accurately, lower increases in property taxes—will tilt enough of the September nays to December yeas to get the consolidated school district on its way to real, practical, school-saving consolidation. But the board and consolidation advocates will have to work hard to change the minds of an electorate that has already rejected one push for a new consolidated building and whose opposition to the second-best solution, putting elementary students and teachers in one existing building and secondary students and teachers in the other, has saddled the consolidated district with the financially unsustainable arrangement of operating two separate K-12 schools in Ramona and Rutland.
Buried Voter News: The board sent its survey out to all 1,038 registered voters in the ORR district. 29% responded. 11.3% turned out to be bad addresses. Would Secretary of State Monae Johnson be interested in learning that 1 out of 9 voters on the voter rolls are uncontactable?
December elections often have lower voter turnout compared to other times of the year. In December, voters may already have a lot on their minds, including the holiday season and potential year-end expenses.
Unfortunately there will be no good news coming from a second bond vote. Rising interest rates have pushed the long term costs of this project substantially higher especially with 30-year bonds. It also doesn’t appear the district officials have been completely upfront with patrons about the necessity of also selling capital outlay certificates that will be needed to actually construct a $30M facility as the bond will only cover half the projected building costs. As the district continues to maintain two complete K-12 facilities, it seems to many that officials don’t have the necessary concern for tax dollars as the district’s cost per student is extraordinarily excessive compared to all other schools in the state.
Yup, bad timing on the bond issue but, there is no doubt a bond issue is necessary for a modern school for this new consolidated district. One issue is that no existing district, and there are few within reach, maybe Madison, wants these children, As the district population is small and somewhat isolated, the property doesn’t generate the revenue necessary to pay for instruction, any buildings or building modification and, a big one, transportation. Again, it’s a systemic state aid problem, and the Legislature twiddles it’s thumbs, and mumbles about “Local Control.” As Rambler points out, the district only needs one attendance cemnter.
They seem to be rushing to get another vote in before new tax levies come out. As a result of combining districts and a new opt out I fear there might be a large tax increase without the bond issue figured in. Also remember the enrollment without the colony and open enrollment students is in the low 100’s.
Construction overruns and other project issues will put this boondoggle over 20 million easily. What is now being taken off, will just be added on before the first shovel full of dirt is moved. Use existing buildings and move on.
As a South Dakotan my experience is that those in favor will keep coming back again and again until the voters are browbeaten into accepting. Even with a lowered amount and adjustments each time an issue is brought to a vote the items cut will still be funded by the public, one way or another. In the meantime, costs keep rising. When it comes to spending taxpayer money, some people are relentless.