The Proposed Plan to Meet Our Needs

On or before Tuesday, November 4, residents will consider two ballot questions. Question One asks residents to consider an $8.745 million building bond referendum to renovate and expand the Career and Technical Education (CTE) and agriculture shop, add two general education classrooms, renovate and expand the existing kitchen and servery area, and address deferred maintenance items, including renovating the old girls’ and boys’ locker rooms, parking lot improvements, and more. 

Question Two asks residents to consider reducing the current authority by $200 per student and still maintain our current staff, educational programs, and other services. If not approved, the school board will use its one-time authority to continue the current levy for the next ten years. The school board is providing the opportunity for district residents to approve a lesser tax threshold.

BUILDING BOND REFERENDUM CONCEPTUAL DRAWING

The image below is conceptual and is not finalized. If approved, the design process would involve stakeholder input to ensure the design best responds to those who use the facility. For easier viewing, please click on the image to access a PDF.

frequently asked questions about the building bond referendum

    • Renovate and expand our existing Career and Technical Education (CTE) and agriculture shop to provide additional instruction space and expose students to potential careers. 

    • Add two general education classrooms to address capacity needs, totaling approximately 2,700 square feet. 

    • Renovate and expand our existing kitchen and servery area, including a larger cooler and freezer, a loading dock with a canopy that is connected to the kitchen, and new equipment to serve our students efficiently and provide additional space for monitoring during lunch. 

    • Provide additional space for a weights and fitness room totaling approximately 2,000 square feet, including new equipment to support our students and staff. This addition will also serve as required space for a storm shelter. 

    • Remodel the existing restrooms near the stage including adding a staff restroom and repurpose the existing boys’ and girls’ locker rooms to provide more usable space for additional restrooms, storage, and improved locker rooms. 

    • Address various deferred maintenance needs, including improvements to our existing event parking and expanded event parking by demolishing the existing bus garage, providing additional vehicle storage by building a vehicle storage building for approximately seven trucks, and updating the existing lighting on our athletic fields, which would provide new opportunities for baseball, softball, community education, recreation activities, and other offerings.

  • If approved on Tuesday, November 4, the design and pre-construction phase of the project would take place from November 2025 to Spring 2026. The project bid and award phase is currently planned to take place in summer 2026, and construction would take place from fall 2026 to summer 2027. Please note that this schedule may change due to design elements, material delays, or unforeseen lead times.

  • If the referendum passes, the district will begin the design process, led by OPN Architects and ICS. Community input is important during this process, and we will involve staff, administrators, community members, and students who will work collaboratively with the selected architect throughout the design process. Input would be asked for and encouraged to ensure the design of the renovated GHEC facility best represents the students, staff, and community who will use it.

  • If residents do not approve the plan, our teachers and staff will continue to teach and our students will continue to learn in inefficient and inadequate spaces, including those not originally designed for education. Although our test scores are comparable to neighboring districts, inadequate space for learning may impact our students and staff over time. Our deferred maintenance needs will continue to grow, likely cost more over time, and decrease the longevity of our building.

How the building bond referendum impacts our students, staff, and community

We are proud of our building, and how it’s seen as a community asset. If residents approve the plan, the CTE and agriculture shop expansion and renovation will expose students to possible careers sooner and they may reinvest in our communities by coming back to our district. 

Providing spaces for our teachers and staff to educate students well is important, and strong educational facilities attract both teachers and students. In addition, improving how we use our existing space will set our district up for long-term success. 

Expanding and improving our kitchen and servery area will allow our staff to serve students quicker and provide additional space to monitor students safely. 

Finally, improving our locker rooms resets the clock on a critical deferred maintenance item with replacing fixtures and infrastructure. In addition, it will also provide adequate space for visiting teams.