After months of deliberation, the Northfield School Board approved a motion Monday night for a bond referendum to be placed on the November ballot to ask voters to approve three questions regarding the aging Northfield High School facility.
In a 5-2 vote, Northfield School Board members approved the “reimagined” option that includes a significant, multi-story addition, demolition of the H, D, M and S wings and renovation to the remaining parts of the existing facility.
The 30-year bond referendum includes three questions. The first question asks voters to approve the construction of a multi-level classroom facility, the demolition of four wings of the high school, and renovation of the cafeteria area, the media center, and the career technical education wing. The cost for this reimagined option is up to $95.8 million.
The second question, which is contingent on the approval of the first, asks for up to $18.8 million for the construction of an athletic fieldhouse.
The third question, which is contingent upon the approval of the first two, seeks the approval for construction and installation of a geothermal system to heat the building.
The roll call vote came after after more than an hour of robust debate. Board Chair Claudia Gonzalez-George, Corey Butler and Ben Miller were strongly in favor of the reimagined option, while Jeff Quinnell and Jenny Nelson voiced their opposition. Quinnell, a Raider alum, cited his opposition to the demolition of over 100,000 square feet of the four wings of the building that had been sufficiently maintained over the years, while Nelson cited the cost and insufficient classroom flexibility.
Board member Quinnell said the bond referendum would be hitting voters in November “after a chaotic national campaign cycle” that also saw local community members angry over city bike trails and high taxes.
“I feel we keep pushing the students’ needs down, and that disappoints me,” said Nelson. “I feel there’s too many promises with too large an ask.”
Board member Amy Goerwitz acknowledged that the process had been long and arduous, but that the choice they were making was “a once in 30 or 50 years” decision.
Board member Noel Stratmoen had asked to delay the vote until April, so that he could have more time to process the information, but his proposal was denied, due mainly to the argument that there was such a short time to educate the public before the Nov. 5 election.
The board will meet March 18 for a workshop session. The next regular sessions of the School Board will be at 6 p.m. on April 8 and 22 and May 13. Regular board meetings are held in the district office boardroom located on the north side of the Northfield School District office on 2nd Street W. Meetings are open to the public and streamed live.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
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