Resources and FAQs

Pequot Lakes Public Schools is proposing a two-question referendum on Tuesday, April 8 to invest in the long-term quality of our schools, classrooms, and infrastructure. Question One asks voters to consider a $55 million bond referendum to complete significant improvements at all three schools. Question Two asks voters to consider a 10-year capital projects levy ($600,000 per year) to help support annual costs for curriculum, textbooks and technology. Question Two is not contingent on Question One. Learn more about the plan here.

Our district is facing facility challenges that are impacting learning and the student experience. Our schools have reached maximum capacity, to the point where some teachers do not have their own prep space and enrollment in certain classes is limited due to a lack of space. 

In addition, our schools have aging infrastructure and instructional materials that must be replaced. With these pressures on our budget, we have not yet been able to enhance our buildings’ safety and security. Additional investments in our schools will allow our district to provide a safe, modern and versatile learning environment and positive student experience – today and in the future.

Yes - voters in our district rejected a referendum plan in 2023 by just a few hundred votes. The new plan differs from this rejected referendum in 2023 in several key ways.

• The new plan omits investments in athletics facilities like ball fields and the running track.

• Instead of building a brand new auditorium, the new plan calls for targeted investments in equipment and safety in the existing auditorium.

• The new plan aims to maximize and reconfigure the use of existing classroom space to address overcrowding, requiring less new construction.

• The new plan will cost the average homeowner 36% less than the previous plan, if both questions are approved.

Our district has worked hard to maintain our buildings over the past decades, but inevitably parts of our infrastructure have either become outdated or need replacement to maintain their quality for students. The referendum plan would complete the most pressing pieces of this maintenance, such as the replacement of aging roofing, doors, windows, pavement, and HVAC systems. 

Renovations are intended to maximize the value of our current learning areas by repurposing some rooms for different classes and/or collaborative and prep space for students and staff alike.

Local residents shaped the plan with guidance and feedback from the district and school construction experts. A Facilities Planning Team of 60 students, staff, parents and community members came together to study a variety of facility options. Our district held over 20 meetings with community members and anonymously surveyed hundreds of residents to identify their priorities.

Question One asks voters to consider approving bonds to pay for needed learning space, safety improvements, better energy efficiency, and general upkeep of our building. Question Two asks voters to consider a 10-year capital projects levy to help support annual costs for curriculum, textbooks and technology. Question Two is not contingent on Question One. Together, these improvements aim to make sure our district continues to provide high-quality education. For a full look at the proposed investments, visit The Plan page.

If voters approve the $55 million bond referendum and $600,000 per year capital projects levy, a home valued at $400,000 would see a monthly property tax increase of $16.25 starting in 2026. To determine the tax impact on your property, visit the Tax Impact page.

A bond referendum is a decision made by voters of whether to authorize a local property tax to fund new construction, renovation or additions to existing school buildings and purchases of new equipment. The tax is paid by all property owners based on the assessed value of their property. 

A capital projects levy – sometimes referred to as a “technology levy” – is a local property tax to fund specific school infrastructure, technology and transportation projects. This type of levy spreads its property tax impact among all types of properties, lowering the tax burden on local homeowners. 

Revenue from each type of voter-approved investment is limited to specific types of district expenses. Revenue from bonds can only be spent to finance capital improvement projects, while capital projects levies can only fund certain types of expenses, such as technology, curriculum, or transportation. Learn more about our needs on The Plan page.

• Our district will not be able to further enhance safety and security measures within our buildings.

• Traffic safety improvements related to the drop-off loop and parking lots will be postponed for the foreseeable future.

• Students and staff will continue to use overcrowded and/or inadequate learning spaces for trades, robotics, and family and consumer science classes.

• Nearly $19 million worth of maintenance needs will be completed at a much slower pace and will be more expensive due to inflation.

An April election is the latest the referendum can be held without delaying construction and being subject to further cost increases due to inflation. The longer our district waits to complete improvements to our buildings, the more they will cost.

Election Day is Tuesday, April 8. Polls will be open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Early voting begins on Friday, February 21. District voters may vote by absentee ballot, in person or by mail. Residents can find detailed information on voting on the Vote page. 

We encourage residents to explore this website for more information. You can share your questions and comments on the Connect page. You may also contact Superintendent Kurt Stumpf at 218-568-4996 or kstumpf@isd186.org.

First, the district used its maintenance plan to assess the cost of replacing roofs, boilers, lighting, pavement and everything in between. Each item has been inspected and reviewed by engineers to confirm the likely costs.  

Second, the district worked with school staff and focus groups to identify the highest priority needs for our district. A community survey was also conducted to understand the priorities of our community.

After identifying the top needs, our school staff met numerous times with an architecture and engineering firm to better understand how to address them. The firm has been responsible for $2+ billion in recent school construction or remodeling, so we are confident in their ability to:

• Precisely estimate costs for specific products and materials, as detailed in the comprehensive maintenance plan 

• Implement best-value engineering 

• Estimate long-term costs of infrastructure

• Secure rebates to offset specific costs  

Based on the identified needs, the impacted areas were identified as (1) new construction, (2) heavy remodel or (3) light remodel. A square footage allocation for each area was determined by reviewing other similar projects throughout the state that have recently been completed. This provided an estimate of the cost per square foot of each area. To get a more precise figure would require a full design of spaces before a bond question is approved. That would be a major expense, and could quickly become obsolete between project design and actual bids given the rate of inflation.

In addition, project cost ‘alternates’ are identified as a measure to control unforeseen pressures on the bidding climate that may affect budgets.

As construction contracts are bid, school districts must accept the lowest responsible bid from a qualified firm, or rebid if the price seems too high. Consequently, we work hard to understand the costs prior to voter approval of a referendum.

Working with our architectural firm, we identified six major factors that influence construction costs:

1. Building construction area and volume

2. Design and detailing 

3. Selection of materials and systems

4. Quality of construction planning documents

5. Bidding competitiveness

6. Construction economy at bid date

The district and architect control items 1-4, while bidding competitiveness (item 5) is dependent 

on contractor interest/timing. Construction economy (item 6) is unknown prior to project bids, so the Engineering News Record (ENR) Historical Building Construction Cost Index and other construction indices are used to try to predict cost. A contingency for unforeseen changes are included in all budgets.

The district has not gone through the specific design process (schematic design, design development, construction documentation and bidding). At least one year passes between the board decision to authorize a referendum and construction bidding based on the design documents. Costs to develop design documents and receive bids are included in the referendum amount instead of being paid prior to a referendum with general fund dollars.

The district receives about $380 per year per student from the State of Minnesota to address ongoing maintenance needs, equating to roughly $700,000 per year. This money is used for roof repairs, mechanical and boiler issues, sidewalks, water well issues, and other regular maintenance needs. For instance, a 21-year old chiller at Eagle View had to be replaced last year for roughly $600,000, and some components of the HS/MS boiler system tanks at the MS/HS were replaced for about $50,000. We have built up a maintenance fund, but it doesn't come close to addressing the full scope of our maintenance needs, let alone improvements to address overcrowding and strengthen learning spaces.