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Home | Politically Connected | Local Politics

Delano voters OK money for land - but not school

Delano School District officials are considering their next move after voters again rejected a bond to build an elementary school.

By PATRICE RELERFORD, Star Tribune

Last update: April 24, 2008 - 12:07 AM

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After losing their second bid for $27 million in bonds to build an additional elementary school, Delano School District officials must decide whether to put the question before voters again this fall for a third vote within 12 months.

Residents on Tuesday voted 1,782 to 1,304 to approve $980,000 for acquiring land for the new school. However, they rejected a $27 million construction bond by a vote of 1,694 to 1,388.

"I think to be able to pass an increase in taxes in this economic environment [to acquire the land] is a success," Superintendent John Sweet said Wednesday.

Delano's land purchase agreement is set to expire at the end of this month. District officials were worried that the owner of the tract, which is adjacent to Delano's existing K-12 campus, would put the land back on the market.

School officials said this week's election results guarantee that the district will be able to acquire the land. The district will market the bonds voters authorized Tuesday and close on the property this summer, Sweet said.

Last November, voters in the western suburban district, which is split between Hennepin and Wright counties, gave the school system $700,000 a year to operate a new elementary school but rejected construction and land acquisition proposals.

The contract the district signed with the owner of the land last year gave it five additional months to gain voter approval for the funds, creating pressure to act quickly.

"We feel very good about approval of the first question. The land is a good thing. It keeps our campus together," Sweet said.

On Wednesday, he said he didn't know if the school board will put the construction proposal on the ballot this fall, but he didn't rule it out. "We just don't know that yet," he said.

Enrollment at Delano's three schools, which now totals 2,248, has increased by almost 400 students since 2002, resulting in schools that are all at or over capacity, and student enrollment is expected to continue to grow, the district said.

Many residents said they understood the district is in a bind, but cited Wright County's worsening housing market, high gas prices and an economic climate that the state economist has called a recession as the main reasons they balked on approving the construction proposal.

Delano resident Linda Franzen questioned whether the extra school capacity would really be needed. "Delano has so many houses for sale, and Wright County is in a decline," she said.

"I don't think Delano is going to keep growing like it was. There will still be people that move out here, but [gas prices are] very expensive. It's gone up so much."

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395

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