Fergus Falls Superintendent Reacts to Voters Saying No to New School

Fergus Falls, MN (Press Release) – The Fergus Falls School District faces some tough decisions following the November 5th ballot, in which both bond referendum questions failed.

Question 1 failed with 6,304 (57.82%) voting No and 4,599 (42.18%) voting Yes. Approval of this question would have resulted in a $48.84 million bond levy to build a new school for grades 3-5.

Question 2 failed with 6,417 (60.25%) voting No and 4,234 (39.75%) voting Yes. The $910,000 bond levy would have been used to construct soccer and baseball fields at the new school.

“First, we thank all voters for seeking information and making an informed decision,” stated Fergus Falls Public School Superintendent Jeff Drake. “We are disappointed that we were unable to unify the community behind the needs of our students and our facilities with regard to the referendum questions.”

What These Results Mean

Without the passing of the first bond referendum question, Fergus Falls Public Schools will not be able to construct a new grade 3-5 school at this time.

Superintendent Drake shared his concerns regarding the results of the bond referendum.

“As we noted prior to the election, we do not have the annual operating revenue necessary to maintain our aging facilities,” said Drake. “Because the bond referendum was not approved, the grades 3-5 school will not be constructed. The district will continue to explore options to address our facilities challenges moving forward.”

Common Ground: Children’s Future

School Board Chair Natalie Knutson believes that now that the election is over, a new chapter in the future for students can begin.

“Despite this disappointing news, we believe there is common ground in supporting the needs of our children. We will build on that common ground, working together with the community, to determine the best path forward for our facilities,” said Knutson.

Next steps:

District leaders and Fergus Falls School Board members will begin to discuss next steps, physical space and education needs.

The school district will provide updates to the community throughout the process.

Story courtesy of Fergus Falls Superintendent Jeff Drake