Nevis School District taxpayers will vote on school bond referendum in 2025

Nevis School District voters are likely to determine the fate of a bond referendum for facility additions and restructuring in April.

Jason Splett, director of project development for ICS in Park Rapids, arrived at the Sept. 23 board meeting to share the facilities plan and feedback received from the Community Action Committee’s listening sessions.

Nevis, he told the board, with 597 students, “has by far the lowest square footage — at 174 square feet per student — compared with likesize districts,” which have an average of 217 square feet per student.

Laporte, with an enrollment of 347, has 303 sq-ft per student; Menahga, with 964 students, has 235 sq-ft per student and Park Rapids, with an enrollment of 1,765 in two buildings, has 297 sq-ft per student.

The high school is undersized in most classrooms, the listening sessions revealed.

Initial plans call for the original gym to become the cafeteria, the original floor to remain.

A second gym is planned for the northwest corner of the building.

“We will keep daylight in as many places as possible,” Splett told board members. Doors will swing into classrooms, as opposed to hallways.

Community Ed will remain in its current location.

The playground on the northeast corner will be moved to create a bus loop, according to the proposal.

A hot water heating system with dehumidification is planned.

Community feedback and staff input show support for the initial plan, he told the board.

In the Nevis Forward questionaire, 38 of the 40 respondents support the concepts that have been identified; 30 agreed that the community would support them.

Support for the tax impact (which has not yet been formally determined) was at 31 answering in the affirmative; 16 answered yes to community support for the tax impact, 17 said “maybe.”

An educational space adequacy report showed insufficiencies in high school classrooms, the cafeteria, security and supervision, the main office, student commons, parking and bus drop-off, the staff lounge, student commons and special education.

Technology and the media center/library were considered adequate, as were the elementary classroom sizes and suitability.

The art classroom in the high school has “questionable adequacy,” as well as the music classroom, physical education and hallways, washrooms and maintenance space.

An ice cream social in October or November will be held as an open community forum to gain feedback.

Once decisions are made, the plan will be sent to the Minnesota Department of Education for review and comment in December.

A referendum will likely be held in April. The final amount for the renovations and additions has not been determined.