September 3, 2014
Message from Superintendent Lutovsky:
On August 11th, the Minto School Board,
with my full support, decided to move forward to ask Minto residents to vote on
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 for a school facility improvement project that will
address elementary and special needs space concerns by adding additional
classrooms to the north end of the existing school building. We will also look to address deferred
maintenance issues including new roofing, doors and windows as well as replace
aged and outdated mechanical and electrical infrastructure.
After spending the past year studying the school
district options, the school board decided to take action now for several key
reasons:
Improve the Quality of our Educational
Spaces
A classroom addition
to the north end of the existing high school will allow us to relocate our
middle school classes that occupy current elementary school spaces. This will enable us to utilize the existing classroom
space for elementary and special needs students, many of who now are now taught
in the commons, doorways and libraries. This
change will allow the district to align our grades to a true K-6, 7-12 configuration,
limiting interaction and space sharing between early learners and Jr/Sr. high
Students and better allow all students and teachers an environment conducive to
quality learning.
Address
Deferred Maintenance and Create Long Term Financial stability for Minto School
District
Our facility was
constructed in 1955, with additions in 1960 and 1969. Much of the roof, windows, doors, as well as heating,
ventilating and electrical systems are original and are being utilized beyond
its useful life. By replacing this aged
external and internal infrastructure, we will be greatly improving the quality
of the learning environment for our students and staff, reducing the amount of
dollars we are spending on repairs and maintenance, preserving our current
operating budgets and in turn helping to ensure Minto School continues to
remain a strong cornerstone to the Minto community.
Continue to Provide Long Term Community
and Taxpayer Value
The significant
investment needed to improve the facility, still extremely low interest rates
from a school construction fund set up by State of North Dakota, recent
significant drop in overall property tax rates, as well as an expected
escalation in overall construction costs, make this a favorable time for Minto
residents to consider these changes.
Historically, Minto
School district has had one of the lowest property tax rates of any school in
the local area. In some cases our tax
rates have been 50% lower than those of our neighboring districts. This has been very beneficial for school
district taxpayers. Unfortunately, the
result to the school district has been limited funding available to address the
changing educational space needs for early childhood and learners with special
needs, nor the availability of funding to invest in replacement of outdated
exterior and interior infrastructure.
Your involvement is
important as we plan the future of Minto School District. We are at a pivotal moment as we build a
long-term vision for the future of our school and community. I look forward to the opportunity in the next
several weeks to talk directly with residents about our vision for the future
of Minto Public Schools.
Please visit the school district website for
additional information regarding the district long term strategic planning
process.
As always, I’m interested in your
feedback, so please contact me any time via phone call at (Phone 701-248-3479,
Cell 701-330-4388 or e-mail Linda.Lutovsky@mintoschools.com and I will address
your questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Linda Lutovksy
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