South Washington County district asks voters for $463 million for schools amid housing boom

South Washington County school district voters will soon decide whether to approve $463 million to drastically expand capacity in the east metro district's schools as officials anticipate enrollment to grow by more than 18% in the coming decade.

If approved, it would be the largest school construction bond referendum in the state's history, eclipsing the record set by White Bear Lake voters in 2019.

It's one of 15 bond measures on the ballot across the state when many voters will cast votes in the Aug. 9 primary election.

Other districts with bond referendums include St. Louis Park, where officials are pitching a $135 million package to update several schools, and Round Lake-Brewster, where district leaders are asking for $30 million to build a new K-12 school.

All told, school districts across the state are asking voters for a combined $975 million to fund various construction projects during the primary. Greg Abbott, spokesman for the Minnesota School Boards Association, said it's a record number of bond measures on a primary ballot, and he attributed it to redistricting that made it more difficult for districts to pursue referendums earlier in the year.

The South Washington County measure would pay for the construction of two new elementary schools and add new classroom space to nearly every other district building.

"We know that it's a really big ask for our community," Superintendent Julie Nielsen said.

The tax bill for the average home in the district, valued at $300,000, would increase by $305 per year. Dan Pyan, the district's finance director, said taxpayers would pay for the upgrades over the course of about 20 years.

The east metro district's boundaries encompass seven communities, including Cottage Grove, Newport and Woodbury.

District leaders say the sum and scope of the ballot measure is necessary because of a failed $47 million referendum on the 2015 ballot that was meant to address overcrowding in South Washington County's elementary and high schools.

"Those needs have only compounded," Nielsen said.

Four elementary schools are in dire need of additional bathrooms, she said. Although Royal Oaks, Pullman, Hillside and Armstrong have been modified to accommodate more students over the years, anywhere between 320 and 490 pupils are still sharing one restroom in those buildings, according to district planning documents.

Officials say 8,000 residential properties will come online within district boundaries over the next 10 years, adding roughly 3,500 students to one of the state's largest districts. South Washington County Schools enrolled nearly 19,000 students last year, according to state records.

The influx of new residents will further strain building capacities and double the number of students living within the boundaries of at least three elementary schools, according to district forecasts.

The bond would provide about $195 million for projects across the district's 15 elementary schools. Several buildings would add classroom and cafeteria space and increase the square footage available for special education and early childhood education programs.

District officials also plan to close Newport Elementary and send its students to three neighboring schools — an idea that drawn pushback from the community. Parents and students filled a May school board meeting to protest the proposal, arguing the move would negatively impact children in the district's most diverse school.

The bond would also provide $59 million in middle school upgrades.

District officials want to add enough classroom space to accommodate about 1,400 students in each of South Washington County's four middle schools. Capacity at Cottage Grove, Lake and Woodbury middle schools is around 1,200. Oltman, which opened in 2018 and is near capacity, holds about 1,000.

High school upgrades account for about $160 million of the proposed bond, primarily to add capacity at East Ridge as officials project enrollment within its boundaries will surge in the coming years. The school is already over capacity by more than 200 students, according to district figures.

Officials also want to renovate Crestview Elementary in order to merge both of South Washington County's alternative high school programs and house them there.

If voters reject the measure, district leaders say they'll go back to the drawing board and return with slimmer request in 2023.

"We know we have some extreme overcrowding and we have to come up with a response," Nielsen said.