First, thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in the June 9th Building Fund election. We appreciate the community's participation and the conversations we had leading up to the vote.
The Building Fund received 251 yes votes and 174 no votes, or 59% support. State law requires 60% approval, meaning the proposal fell just four votes short of passing.
While the vote was very close, the needs that led us to bring the Building Fund forward have not gone away.
At the August School Board meeting, we have decided to move forward with plans to ask district taxpayers to consider a Building Fund again this fall. This time, the request will be 18 mills rather than the 20 mills proposed in June.
The election will be held on Tuesday, October 27th, at Linton Public School. More information on voting times, location, and instructions will be shared as we get closer to the election. We will continue to provide information through our School Website, Facebook page, and the Emmons County Record.
We also want to make it easier for taxpayers to find information and review the facts for themselves. All of our previous Building Fund articles, presentations, and communications have been archived on our school website. You can find them by clicking the Menu tab located on the upper right corner of the homepage and selecting Building Fund Information. Click here for the Building Fund Page
Taking Care of the School We Have
We want to emphasize an important point: We are not proposing to build a new school.
The purpose of establishing a Building Fund is to help us preserve and maintain the school building we already have.
We have a number of building and infrastructure needs in front of us, including (but not limited to:
Bathroom and locker room updates
ADA compliance and accessibility
Roofing needs
Flooring replacement and repairs
HVAC and boiler needs
Electrical work
Other ongoing building maintenance and infrastructure improvements
These projects won't all happen at once, but they will need to happen. Establishing a Building Fund would give the district a dedicated source of revenue to plan for and address these needs over time.
At 18 mills, the Building Fund would generate approximately $308,000 per year based on the district's current taxable valuation. If passed, these dollars would be a part of the 2027-28 school year budget.
We understand that asking taxpayers to consider this issue again only a few months after the June election is a big decision. The Board has reduced the request from 20 mills to 18 mills, and we will continue to provide information about the proposal, our building needs, and what 18 mills would mean for taxpayers.
Our goal is pretty simple: take care of the school we have, keep it safe and functional, and make responsible investments so it can continue serving our students and community for years to come.
Again, thank you to everyone who voted in June and to those who have taken the time to ask questions and learn more about the Building Fund. We appreciate your involvement as we move toward the October 27th election.
All the best,
Michael Schirado
Superintendent
Linton Public School