Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school bond package sets Minnesota record

Voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district approved a slate of school construction bond measures worth nearly half a billion dollars Tuesday, the largest in Minnesota history.

The special election drew about 11,000 voters, about 10% of those registered. A little over two-thirds of those voters approved the measure.

"This referendum will provide safety and security improvements at all of our schools, additional space we need now and for future growth, and a more consistent experience for students and families across the district," Superintendent Mary Kreger said in a statement. "Quality schools are at the core of our thriving communities."

So far this year, 16 of the state's school districts have collectively asked voters for about $987 million to build or renovate their buildings, according to the Minnesota School Boards Association. Voters in 10 districts have said yes, totaling nearly $725 million in approved referendums.

The second-largest school construction measure on the ballot Tuesday was in Montevideo, where voters rejected $65 million to build a new high school and extensively renovate two schools.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan enrolls a little more than 29,200 students, making it the state's third largest behind Anoka-Hennepin and St. Paul Public Schools and ahead of the Minneapolis district.

Officials in the southeast metro district posed two questions during the special election. One asked voters to approve a $374 million package that includes safety improvements across all of its schools and provides for the construction of a new elementary building and a new campus for Rosemount Middle School.

That bond package will also pay for extensive renovations at Scott Highlands Middle School and Dakota Ridge School, as well as renovations at Rosemount High. It will also fund improvements to science labs and performance spaces at the district's secondary schools.

The second question, contingent on passage of the first, requested $119 million to provide an activity center at each of the district's traditional high schools: Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview and Rosemount.

The $493 million in bonding Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan voters approved Tuesday eclipses the $326 million referendum voters approved for White Bear Lake Area Schools in 2019. And the bond measure comes one year after a similar effort tanked in neighboring South Washington County, where officials were asking voters for $463 million to expand classroom space in nearly every school and construct two new elementary buildings.

Officials in that district pledged to return with a revised referendum after public outcry over their initial plan included the closure of Newport Elementary, which enrolls a high percentage of Black, Asian and Latino students. The school board is reviewing a long-term facilities plan that's slated to come up for a vote in mid-June.