Voters in the South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo Schools) district approved both Bond Question 1 and Bond Question 2 requests. Voters also approved SoWashCo Schools’ request to revoke and replace the Technology Projects Levy.

• View the latest results on the Minnesota Secretary of State website.

SoWashCo Schools will begin design work for buildings in two phases with the goal of completing all projects within the next three years.

“We know this was a big ask for voters in hard economic times,” said Superintendent Julie Nielsen. “We are extremely grateful for our community’s support to address safety, security, growth and technology projects in our schools.”

The sale of bonds is the only method for school districts to raise enough funds for new construction, renovations and improvements to address student growth.

Bond Questions

Bond Question 1 ($160 million) will provide for safety and security enhancements and expansions and renovations at secondary schools, including:

• Construct new secure entry at Park and Woodbury high schools, and Cottage Grove, Lake and Woodbury middle schools

• Planned addition at East Ridge High School and renovations at Park and Woodbury high schools

• Planned expansion of Oltman Middle School and renovations at Woodbury Middle School

Bond Question 2 ($40 million) will provide funding to address elementary school space at schools projected to exceed capacity; renovations for bathrooms at five elementary schools.

• Elementary school additions at Bailey, Grey Cloud, Pine Hill and Red Rock elementary schools

• Construction of additional bathrooms at schools only containing a single set/four stalls: Crestview, Hillside, Pine Hill, Pullman and Royal Oaks elementary schools.

• No changes to elementary school boundaries.

The bonds, once sold, will be in place for 20 years with an estimated tax impact of $6 a month for the average value home in the district of $409,000.

Ballot Question 3 Technology Projects Levy

Voters also approved Question 3 Technology Projects Levy request that will provide a dedicated funding stream for technology-related expenses, including cybersecurity, instructional software, business software and technology repair. The approval of the request to revoke and renew the existing technology levy increases the annual funding from $2.8 million to $5 million for the next 10 years.

More information on the 5-year facility plan and the Technology Projects Levy is available at sowashco.org/facilityplanning. Thank you to our voters for securing our future and supporting our students.