School Board Work Session 4/26/2026
This board work session for next steps of the referendum was not recorded by the district. The main goal of this session was for the board to brainstorm next steps together.
Main Takeaways
Everyone on the board agreed the Middle School is the top priority, whether it be build new or rebuild/renovate in place. There were comments about other options, but none seemed to be warrant significant discussion. No option for the Middle School was ruled out.
Of the infrastructure needs of the other buildings, it seemed the board agrees the High School is the most critical, and has the most to gain, efficiency-wise, by doing as much as possible at once. The existing needs at the elementary schools present fewer risks than the high school if delayed and fewer efficiencies gained too.
There was some discussion about a Nov referendum question that would only focus on infrastructure at the High School and elementary schools, leaving the Middle School question until a later date (mostly to allow a longer period to gather feedback). However, there was concern that this would result in the Middle School (the priority and most critical) not getting any work done at all.
There was a significant amount of logistical discussion about gathering feedback from the community and the timeline needed to have a new question on the ballot for November. Ideas included: Focus Groups, Surveys, Public Comment sessions, etc. There was also discussion about what feedback the board is trying to gather and how it would be used in drafting the next referendum question.
There was a clear concern among some members of the Board about the continued inflationary effects of waiting and a belief that dealing with these needs will cost more by waiting. Most of the Board seemed to indicate a desire to decrease the ask and complete the work in phases given the results of the April election, but they have not explicitly ruled out any specific iterations of the original package of projects.
Interesting Tidbits from CD Smith
CD Smith confirmed that if High School HVAC is updated - the fire safety needs to be done to remain up to code. These projects cannot be unlinked.
CD Smith also confirmed that if a referendum is not passed this year, the estimates for construction will need to be redone to account for inflation.
CD Smith further explained the “infrastructure only” option from the Options Presentation. This option was estimated at $21.7M. Many people interpreted this option to mean infrastructure would be replaced or otherwise improved. CD Smith clarified at this work session that this option means repairing and fixing the current infrastructure, NOT improving any of the systems or their inefficiencies.
CD Smith also clarified that a new middle school would be limited in height due to current village zoning. This impacts how big the middle school footprint needs to be.
