Divided board approves $10.8 million in renovations

After overturning a vote on $8.3 million in projects in March, the Barnum school board voted 4-3 to bond for $10.85 million on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Beth Dinger, Beth Schatz, Steph Ferrin and board chair Jessica Unkelhaeuser voted yes, while Paul Coughlin, Louie Bonneville and Jamie Fuglestad voted no.

“We were trying to push for a referendum, but everyone voted against it,” Schatz said. “We’re in a bad spot. This will give us the money to start. We can pick the projects from there.”

The projects for the elementary school are window replacement on the 1962 addition, new high-efficiency water heaters, boiler pipe fittings, indoor air quality improvement, roof replacement on the 1989 section, and paving repair.

The projects listed for the high school are indoor air quality improvements, new high-efficiency boilers/heating system, new high-efficiency water heating system, roof replacement on the oldest sections, updated fire alarm system, and a paving upgrade.

The funding for the projects was listed as up to $7,864,500 from health and safety, $1,893,900 from long-term facilities maintenance funds, and $485,000 in abatement bonds. Those add up to $10,243,400. The bonds are sold to cover the upfront costs and repaid from tax levies (for health and safety) and annual maintenance funds from the state over time.

Superintendent Bill Peel pointed out that costs go up the longer they are delayed, and that the $8.3 million budget was from June 2021.

The biggest item — a significant heating and ventilation project — is now slated for in the summer of 2024.

“It is critically important to do this project right,” Peel said. “Hopefully, when we bid this project, the costs will be lower and we won’t need the construction contingency built into the budget.”

Coughlin thanked everyone, including the consulting firm ICS, which worked on the list of projects and funding. He said that all of the projects have merit. However, he did not agree that the use of health and safety funds was appropriate.

“It’s the use of health and safety funds rather than a referendum that’s not appropriate,” said Coughlin. “The people that I talked to wanted that choice. It is about managing that relationship of where the board is at and where the community is at.”

Louie Bonneville said he had made some phone calls and he agreed with Coughlin that people wanted to vote and didn’t support using health and safety funds.

“I’m torn,” said Jamie Fuglestad. “I wish it was a referendum, but we need the boilers.”

A $17 million referendum that included similar projects (and more) failed in 2014.

Barnum is not the first district in the area to bond for health and safety dollars, which don’t require a referendum for approval. Rather, the state gives school districts the authority to fund improvements that are associated with improving specific health and safety items for schools.

Both Carlton and Wrenshall school districts funded the bulk of their recent building updates the same way.

Peel explained that the legislature deemed these types of projects essential to protect a community’s prior investments in district facilities as well as maintain a safe and healthy environment. In addition to board approval, approval from the commissioner of education is also required as part of the bond issuance process.

Once the district gets that approval, the bond sale will proceed, Peel said.

The board also authorized Peel and Unkelhaeuser to execute a professional services contract with ICS, the school district’s consultant for design and now program/construction management. The board has spent many months and had discussions about the projects with ICS.

Unkelhaeuser explained that unused funds can be returned.

“Those are not hard and fast numbers,” she added. “It depends on where the bids come in.”

The next meeting of the board was set for 5 p.m. Nov. 16 to canvass the ballots.

The next action school board meeting is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, in the media center for a presentation of the audit in addition to the board meeting.