Welcome everyone. I'm excited to be here today. I'm board chair Amber Cameron, and today we're gathering to talk about the upcoming growing together bond referendum with our middle school principals and my fellow board member. I'd like to turn over to Matt to introduce himself and hear from the rest of you on your roles and in the district. >> Morning everyone. My name is Matt Swanson, another board member. >> Hello, Jason Bakke, proud principal at Century Middle School. >> Kelly McDermott, proud principal at Kenwood Trail Middle School. >> And I'm Josh Alexander, I'm principal here at McGuire. We're at McGuire. And uh go Cougars. It's a great day to be a Panther as well. >> Well, we're excited to have the principals here today uh cuz we're talking about a bond referendum, which is specifically for the middle schools to address renovations and additions in order to meet the growing need due to the population increase and the enrollment growth that's straining the resources of those existing facilities. Um but before we kind of dive into the what and the why, Amber, can you describe a little bit what a bond referendum is? >> It's a good question. I think how I like to think of it is bonds are for building and levies are for learning. So, this cycle is all about infrastructure and the the buildings that we need in order for the great learning to happen here in our district. Dr. A, could you share some more details about what this particular bond will support? >> Well, we're looking at a $139.6 million going out to our voters. Uh and that would be looking for additions to all three middle schools. So, cafeteria space and furniture and really kind of expanding so we can hit that uh larger amount of kids who are coming through. So, that's really that push is for all three middle schools. >> Yeah, I think anyone who lives in Lakeville and drives around in the town can see that there's a lot of growth going on, which that naturally means there's going to be more students coming into our schools just from a statistics number. You know, 2020 we had about 70,000 people according to the census in Lakeville. 2025 now we're closer to 77,000. You add in the other areas that we service for the Lakeville area schools, um we're close to 87,000 people. And there's more homes coming each year. Lakeville has been consistently one of the, you know, top producing homes as far as new building permits, uh over 550 building permits for residences last year, which was one of the lead in the whole state. So, uh this isn't an issue that's going away. A good problem to have, a growing district. Um But again, it it just goes to the pushing the need for additional space in our middle schools. Principal McDermott, uh can you talk a little bit about how that growth in our community is impacting us at the middle school level? >> Over the past decade, our enrollments increased by 1,200 students. That growth has mostly been at the elementary level, and the district has added additions at several of our elementary schools. The community also passed the bond to open Highview Elementary. But now those students are moving to the middle school level, and we are starting to feel the strain. >> With all of these students moving into the middle school level, as you mentioned, how is this impacting the overall space and both the experience for students and staff? >> Well, I would love to address that, as we have quite a few students at Century Middle School, uh currently. Number one is in the classroom. We're seeing higher class sizes, um which presents challenges for our teachers to meet the needs, um challenges to give timely feedback. Uh the classrooms really feel cramped. They they feel small, students are on top of each other. And once you step outside of the classrooms and you get into the hallways, uh there's capacity issues. Uh it's difficult to navigate through the hallways. At times, it can even feel unsafe for our students. Um and then we mentioned other spaces, like when you get to the cafeteria, students are waiting in line for a very long time. And sometimes, uh they might only have 7 or 8 minutes uh to to eat their lunch. So, everything really feels rushed and feels overcrowded. >> Can I just ask you a follow-up on that? When you're saying kids only have 7 minutes to eat lunch, can you explain how that works just from a uh process standpoint and why it only you only get 7 minutes at at some point for certain groups and how the limitations in our current facility uh result in that? >> Absolutely. So, at all three of our middle schools, we have 25 minutes carved out for for a lunch. Uh and what we do is we have a staggered release in the lunch line. So, if you're a Monday group, you get to eat lunch first. And then Tuesday goes second, and then Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. If you're actually in that Friday group, you might end up sitting at your table and waiting for all the other students to go through that line first. Uh therefore, you feel that pinch at the end of the lunch period. It is fair because everybody does have their one day that they get to go first. Uh but at times you're you're sitting there waiting for quite a bit. >> And one of the things we're talking about with the renovation is really expanding that space so you can have more service lines. So, there's not cuz you could line everybody up at the start of lunch, but it would still be the same result, right? >> it would be it would be chaos if you lined everybody up right away. And then you not that any middle schoolers would ever budge or try to, you know, hop the line in front of each other. But part of this expansion would be building out larger spaces within our serving areas. So, students would be able to get through the line much quicker. >> Yeah, I would say I mean from taxpayers and even board members, sometimes it's hard to understand when we're asking for money for those additional spaces. It's like, well, do you really need it? But then when you see it, you know, in practice and how it's being used, and it's like, okay, it does make sense. Like if we're going to have more students, you know, these common areas or shared spaces need to accommodate those additional students as well. >> Correct. And other spaces where we're feeling the pinch are gymnasiums. Uh we're very fortunate at Century to have to have two gyms, uh, but even with two gyms, it's not enough. We'll have sometimes have 70 students in one of our small gyms, and that creates a unsafe environment. So, I know, you know, Principal McNamara, do you have challenges at Kenwood as well within the gyms and trying to schedule for your your classes? >> Yep, for sure. So, we only have one gym at Kenwood, and you put the divider down, and what people don't understand is the way our middle school schedule goes. At sometimes, there's five five classes operating at one time in that one gym with the divider down, and so it's very hard to get through the same curriculum that is offered at McGuire and Century. We're very creative, um, but in the winter months, it's really hard because we only have limited space. So, we get in the pool as much as we can. We do utilize our rock climbing wall. Um, in the the months when it's warmer outside, we get the kids outside, but we are very limited, um, and we can't just use the gym when it's open because at the secondary level, we have to run a schedule, and so there's five five classes at one time with one space. So, we really feel it, um, and it's really hard to be able to run those those classes during that time with one space. >> Uh, Dr. E, could you share a little bit, I mean, we're we're in McGuire right now and, you know, a smaller classroom setting here, older building, but also as capacity increases, more students in the spaces, we're running out of like flexible learning spaces and how that's a reality for you here at McGuire and how you guys are dealing with that. >> Well, again, original, um, 7-12 building, and we've been added on to I think six or seven different times. Our last major renovation was in 1993, um, and that's kind of space that we're in today is a classroom that was uh, designed in '93. It's a specialty classroom, but it with that, it's uh it's small. And we are designed on a traditional junior high school. So, if you ever come in, you kind of see us as hallways and classrooms, but there's no breakout space uh because of when we were built, when we were designed, we were really designed on a junior high model, which is a smaller high school. Well, schools changed. And with that, you're looking at breakout spaces, you're looking at flex places where kids can kind of congregate in small groups. Uh they can do things, whether it's project base or working together in small group. Uh we don't have those. So, if you go to Century, Century has some wonderful breakout spaces. You know, opened in 1999 uh for the turn of the century, but still in the main. And uh with that, you can kind of see those desired spaces and how they were built for that next generation of kids. So, but for us, you know, uh again, with six different additions, our classroom sizes are so different. Like, I have I have some I could get 40 kids in, and then I can barely get 20 in, you know, as for some of the other ones. And so, with that, we are so different in our footprints. And then, if you go to Kenwood, very different classrooms, built as a high school, you know, for Kenwood, very different footprints as well as then you were actually built as a middle school for Century. So, uh again, everybody's kind of dealing with different sizes and spaces, uh but definitely feeling it here as you walk around Maguire. >> I would just like to add on to that a little bit. Um I've been in the community since 2001. Um have been part of this amazing district. Uh we've had two two students uh our our twin daughters uh went to Cherry View, they went to Century Middle School, they graduated from Lakeville North High School. My wife is a first grade teacher at Highview Elementary. And we've talked about the word community quite a bit. People come to Lakeville because of the schools. And um there's a strong reputation out there. We have amazing teachers. Our staff across the district is extremely professional. They work so hard at what they do. We want to be known as a destination district for our teachers and for our students. So, when they come to Lakeville, people stay in Lakeville. Um it's not just this, you know, stopping ground where people are going to hop and move. And we need to keep that going. Uh that's why this levy is so important that we can continue to offer this amazing programming uh for our kids because at the end of the day, it's about the students. >> Yeah, I would echo that and I oftentimes hear like, "Well, you're making it work. Like you're you're making it work at Kenwood." And we are. Um and we make it work because of the teachers. We have amazing teachers here in Lakeville, like Mr. Backy said. Um but our students deserve to have uh really good facilities to enhance their learning and they deserve better. They deserve to not have crowded spaces. They deserve to have um equitable spaces, right? Like it's hard when Again, I'll go back to the gym reference at Kenwood when we have one gym and the other buildings have two gyms and we can't do the same things as the other buildings. Oh, you're making it work. Yep, we do. We make it work cuz we love on our students and we do the best we can for them. But they deserve to have the same learning experiences from building to building and they deserve to have the best buildings um for their educational experiences. >> Yeah, I'd just add from a I mean, it's it's great hearing the perspective from the principals and what you're seeing like every day already. Um because I think this is an issue it's already an issue. It's not, "Hey, we're going to have this massive flow of students and the schools are going to be packed." I mean, you're already full. I mean, even with some leveling out of the middle schools, you're all looking at 90% capacity, which is over the 85% threshold that we'd ideally like to see. >> One of the goals of the board has had and I think what we hear from parents and community members is trying to give students the the most equal educational experience possible, no matter what building they're at, right? And so, I think what we've been hearing what Matt just alluded to is challenges and kind of giving the same quality to every every student who comes through whatever door they walk through. So, to that end, um Principal McDermott, can you speak to how these issues would be addressed if voters approve the May 12th bond? Yeah, we would be able to build these classroom additions that, you know, Dr. A was talking about. We would be able to um make all three buildings equitable in how how we operate, right? Being able to have equitable classrooms um across the three. So, you know, at McGuire, we'd be able to have classrooms that are larger than the one we're sitting in right now. Um being able to um increase our sizes for our special education classrooms. Um at Kenwood, we'd be able to add a gym um and be able to have, you know, spaces that are comparable to the spaces at McGuire and Century for our our physical education classes. You know, many of our classrooms are smaller than the Minnesota Department of Education's recommended sizes. So, with the passing of the bond, we would be able to get our classrooms up to the size that would be recommended by uh the Department of Ed. Our specialist area, we would be able to have them equitable across the three sites. Our STEM classes, our visual arts, uh media arts, band, choir, uh family and consumer sciences. Parking is an issue that we would be able to address, updating our furniture, our in our flex spaces. Um we'd be able to get a lot done uh with the bond passing at all three buildings, which would be really exciting um and it would be equitable across all three sites. >> And you could get some extra tennis courts as well. >> Yeah. Yes, tennis courts, which are not just for the extracurriculars after school. We actually use them for our phy ed classes and as an outdoor space our teachers take the kids outside as an outdoor classroom believe it or not. It is utilized quite often as an additional space at Kenwood so yeah, extra tennis courts. >> So I know that our community really wants to kind of see what we're doing and I know that they can get on to our district website and that's ISD 194.org and they can kind of see each line of what we're proposing for those additions whether it's Century or Kenwood or Maguire. >> I think for that. Now on the not so fun side, so what would look like with the growing population if the bond referendum vote does not pass? >> Not good at all. All of the things that that we've been talking about the problems just grows. The students are coming our way one way or the other and that's awesome. We we can't wait to have them in our buildings but there are significant challenges if it doesn't. Class sizes will continue to grow. That's less individual attention for for our students. It creates additional challenges for our teachers to try to meet all of the needs. All of those common spaces within the hallways, not lockers in the hallways so students have places to put their gear. There are complex challenges to for the scheduling. You know, Principal McDermott was talking about our fact spaces, our stem spaces. We only have one of those classrooms. So that means that students may not end up having all of the choices that they want and that creates inequities right there. >> I think one of the surprising things when Amber and I toured Century was even if you had a decent size classroom with the number of students that you have in each classroom like how close the desks were to one another and it's like one, how do you even get middle schoolers into their seats and then I mean some of them were almost this close. It's like, okay, you're going to teach a lesson and not have them like touching each other or paying attention. And we we've done obviously there's some adjustments happening there, but with increased population coming, I mean homes continue to be built. Um and we can ignore that or deal with it is really what we're looking at. Yeah, and unfortunately if we don't deal with it, you're it's just going to be a a bigger problem for the middle schoolers. So, and the teachers and the administration. >> So, a concern I think that I have as a parent of a fourth grader and Matt as a parent of a fourth grader and we've heard from others is that these if the bond were to pass that the renovations wouldn't be completed in time uh for them to enter their sixth grade year. So, what what's the plan to kind of help those fourth graders um enter our buildings while still maintaining um the ability to to to do the renovations? >> Yeah, well, uh I can speak specifically to Century with the the recent boundary adjustments. Uh that has been very helpful to alleviate some of the the pressure uh at Century. Uh so, we we currently have over a thousand students uh in the building this year. Uh next year it's expected to drop to to 900. So, when those fourth graders do come to Century, we will have room for them. We will be able to offer the same programming for them. Uh but the problem is really down the road as those elementary class sizes continue to grow as more and more people uh move into Lakeville, that's where the challenges uh will arise. >> Well, and I think for all of us we can kind of do it with one grade. You can kind of start pushing kids into spaces and doing some things differently with one grade. You're not going to be able to do it with three grades. So, when those fourth graders are now six, seventh, and their eighth graders and you have larger class you're you know, 350 to to almost you know, maybe 400 kids projected into each class size, um you're you'll never fit all those groups in. So, you can do it with one, you're not going to be able to do it with cross three grades. So, we'll be creative for that first year and making sure that their experiences are good and that their teachers again uh make sure that they they see them and that good relationships being built, but uh it'll be a tight first year for them. So, getting down to the numbers, I mean if if if taxpayers uh are curious as to how much this is going to cost them, $139 million seems like a lot of money when you break it down per household, the district has calculated uh that the estimated tax impact packed based on a $500,000 average home value in Lakeville would be about $14 per month per household uh over the course of 20 years, which is what we're looking at for a bonding term. Um fortunately, as the community continues to grow, that number will decrease that amount as there are more houses come onto the market or into the community, uh that $14 a month will be diluted and so it won't be $14 a month necessarily for 20 years, but that that's what our estimate is based on the current tax base, current number of households in the district right now. Um if anyone is interested in knowing exactly what it's going to cost them, uh we do have that information available. We have a calculator on our district website. You can go to ISD194.org/vote and get access to that information and lots more information regarding the bond referendum. >> I think something that our board seriously thought about and Matt, I don't know if you'd agree with me here, but is obviously listening to the needs from the building administrators, from the superintendent about the challenges that our buildings have um especially in the middle school right now with space and wanting to address those, but not to be extravagant. That we are really asking for what we need. We're not asking for um big shiny uh new objects that are that are wants um because we know that, you know, uh the economy and we know families um are are stretched and so we we would not make this ask lightly unless it was a critical need and we believe as a board that it is. And so that's why we're coming to the voters with with this ask. >> I mean I definitely would second that. We're not we're not building palaces here, you know. And I think if you're not paying attention, I mean our board meetings we talk about finances all of the time, you know, trying to be fiscally responsible with the budget and the taxpayers' funds. I mean another option was building another middle school. Just from a cost perspective though was very cost prohibitive. I mean $100 million more roughly. So people see a $139 million price tag and think wow, that's a lot of money. But really it's the most cost effective way to expand our middle schools, provide more space for our students while preserving that tax base and and being respectful of the funds that we're getting from our taxpayers. Maybe there's this perception that schools are always asking for money from the public, you know, whether it's a levy or a bond. But what most people don't realize and I know I've we've mentioned this before is we're the only government entity that has to ask for money. You know, the city and the county they'll just increase the taxes where the schools can't do that. So we're limited as far as what funds we get. We get a an annual increase from the state which barely if at all keeps up with inflation. And so we're always in this financial crunch. And so really in order to meet that gap that's left we have to go to the taxpayers. And it can seem like a lot sometimes. But the reality in a district that's growing, we have additional needs to serve our families and those kids. Um And really so that's why you have to go back cuz that's the only source that we can get the funds. Otherwise you have a ton of kids in small classrooms and it's just pressing the system and it's not ideal for education. I would encourage anyone who who thinks that this is too much to go look at our budget. You know, the numbers are all available on the district website, and if they can find savings, the board would love to hear about them. Uh >> Well, and to that end, a question that we've gotten, I'm sure others have received, is don't we just go after a different levy? This is the same school year. And the answer is yes. Um we did. So, this fall, our community, and thanks to our community, passed a renewal of a capital projects levy. So, um as a reminder, levies are for learning, bonds are for building. And so, the levy that we passed um was to continue um maintaining educational and security technology, and also to support career pathways for our students here in the district. And because it was a renewal, there was no new taxes um that that families felt here in Lakeville. So, um that's just continuing on what's been supported for a long time here in our district. The other thing to remember is that Lakeville has consistently shown that, you know, we're a community that supports our schools. And um we come to the community when we have an important need or or um see a way to improve our schools. And that's what we're doing right now. And so, we will come when there's a need, as Matt said. We're not we're not extravagant, for sure. Um but we're working within our means and and hoping our community will support um kind of these basic infrastructure improvements to make sure all of our students can have a good learning experience. I think it's also important to let the community know that, while um not immediate, uh as these students we've talked about opening Highview Elementary, and now they're going to be moving into middle school soon, that they will become high schoolers, ideally, right? And so, you know, upcoming, we will probably have some pinch at the high schools in terms of space that will need to look at. And then also, we know that um our early learning program is at max capacity. We have way more families that want to take advantage of early learning here in Lakeville at Crystal Lake Education Center. And so, that's another need that we'll have to look at um in the future of how to how to expand that program to support more of the families that um are in our district. And then finally, we know that the district's alternative learning center, which services 9th through 12th graders, is a great educational um model um to support students uh in our district and right now um they're not in an ideal learning situation and so we'll want to think about the best uh way to support ALC students going forward for that program to meet the needs of that uh student population as well. Of course, we do this a lot um if you follow our board meetings, but we're tracking enrollment trends, um looking at new housing bills, growth predictions, and wanting to meet the educational extracurricular needs of our students here in the district and so making sure that we're competitive with the other districts that are around us um so that we can give a high-quality experience and prepare our students for post-graduation life. >> I I appreciate you answering that question about the referendum. I get that a lot of like, "Didn't we just have a referendum?" But then the next question on the heels of that is, "When's the next vote?" is what I get. >> from my family's here in Mahtomedi. >> The vote on this bond referendum, yes, coming up in May. So, May 12th is the actual voting date. However, you can there is early voting available uh starting in March 27th through May 11th. Uh voters or residents can vote at the district office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Residents can also vote early if they want uh requesting a absentee ballot from mnvotes.org. Uh if you are mailing in the ballot, they will have to mail it in so it is received on or before May 12th. And then also again, election date is May 12th. Uh residents can go to their voting place from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Uh there is a change for voting locations for polling locations. You can find that on isd194.org/vote uh and find wherever your new polling location is um and also learn more about the bond referendum. >> Mhm.