Referendum Edition

⏰ Reading time: four minutes, three seconds

Dear Northfield School District Families:

As you are aware, the district is holding a bond referendum aiming to reimagine Northfield High School as part of the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.

This family update breaks down the first referendum question, gives information about voting, the district’s strong history of stewardship with bond funds, tax impact and property tax rebate programs, and upcoming tours and events.

Our goal is that you have the factual information needed to make an informed decision at the ballot box. If you have any questions about the Reimagine Northfield High School bond referendum, visit our website or please contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Matt

--

Matt Hillmann, Ed.D.

Superintendent

mhillmann@northfieldschools.org | 507-663-0629

• A 120,000-square-foot multi-story classroom addition. This includes new general education classrooms, science labs, special education classrooms, culinary kitchens, and three new music classrooms.

• Retaining 168,559 square feet (or 62%) of the existing school. This includes renovating the auditorium, gymnasium, vocational classrooms and shops, art studios, cafeterias, and media center.

• It involves strategically demolishing the D, H, M and S wings (102,000 square feet). This assists in improving security and energy efficiency.

• New HVAC systems throughout the entire facility.

• Cost: $95.38 million.

• Learn more details about the proposal at the district's referendum website.

Question 1, if it passes, adds 120,000 square feet of new space and leverages more than 60% of the existing building’s footprint to substantially improve the school experience for students and staff. Question 1:

• Improves security by reducing the number of exterior exits (currently 40).

• Improves accessibility and special education classrooms, supporting students with disabilities.

• Improves classrooms, science laboratories, culinary kitchens and career/technical shops, which are outdated and need substantial improvements for students to compete in a modern workforce.

• The reimagined, flexible classroom design can adapt to future changes and promote high-quality learning experiences. Upgraded facilities and equipment are essential for hands-on learning experiences in science and vocational courses.

• Current classrooms have limited access to natural light, providing a dull and uninspiring physical learning environment. Large, efficient windows will improve the physical learning environment. Increased natural light has been shown to improve academic outcomes and positively impact student and staff mental health.

This interview includes discussion about the school board's approval of the annual preliminary levy and discussion about the projects included in Question 1 for the Reimagine Northfield High School bond referendum. The discussion about Question 1 begins at the 11:25 mark in the interview.

I will focus on Question 2 and Question 3 in an upcoming family update. At this time, you can learn more about Questions 2 and 3 at https://northfieldschools.org/reimagine.

Early voting has started in Minnesota. You can learn more about early voting at your county or city websites:

• Rice County
• City of Northfield
• Dakota County
• Goodhue County

The Northfield School District has a history of being good stewards of bond funds. Two examples are:

• In 2018, voters approved $41 million to address facility needs at the district’s elementary schools. Because of the district’s AA+ bond rating and a great bid day, the district bonded for $39 million — $2 million less than the voters approved. The projects were completed as scheduled and on budget with approximately 60% of the build time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The district is finishing paying off the Northfield Middle School debt. Because of diligent attention to the markets and strategic refinancing of debt, Ehler’s, Inc. estimates that taxpayers paid $4 million less in interest than initially projected.

A high school tour is one of the best ways to personally see the facility problems the bond referendum aims to address. We look forward to hosting you on a tour or one of the other informational events listed below.

• Oct. 15: 4pm - 6pm, NHS Tour, enter at door #10 and meet in the media center
  

• Oct. 21: 4pm - 6pm, Carleton geothermal tour at Anderson Hall

• Oct. 22: 7pm - 8:15pm, NHS Reimagine Referendum Q&A in the high school auditorium

• Oct. 24: 6pm - 8pm, NHS Tour, enter at door #10 and meet in the media center

• Nov. 2: 10am - 12pm, NHS Tour, enter at door #10 and meet in the media center

Visit our website to find more tours and other events.

You can learn about your personal tax impact by using the district’s tax impact calculator, provided by Ehler’s, Inc.

Some taxpayers may qualify for one of Minnesota's property tax refund programs. You can learn more at https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/property-tax-refund.

One property tax refund program that can assist homeowners is the Homeowner's Homestead Credit Refund. This year's criteria for a regular refund includes:

​You owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2024

Your household income for 2023 was less than $135,410

This year's criteria for a special refund includes:

• You owned and lived in the same home on January 2, 2023, and on January 2, 2024
• Your home's net property tax increased by more than 12% from 2023 to 2024
• The net property tax increase was at least $100
• The increase was not because of improvements you made to the property

This information is from the Minnesota Department of Revenue's Homeowner's Homestead Credit Refund web site.

There is also a renter's property tax refund program. You can learn more about that program here.

The Northfield School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX, including in employment. You can learn more at: https://northfieldschools.org/about/departments/human-resources/ under the Title IX tab.