Referendum

For more than 10 years, LqPV School District has played High School Varsity Baseball games at the Madison Memorial Baseball Field. Recently, there have been rumors that if this referendum passes, that commitment will change. Please be advised, those rumors are false. As you can see in this brochure, the District’s intent is to make improvements to the Junior High and the Junior Varsity baseball fields. The focus will be on improving the playfields—not on creating a new varsity field!

Currently, both of those fields are used extensively throughout the spring and summer months by youth baseball programs and players. Improving the quality of the fields will be beneficial for all programs using them--just not school programs. The School District intends to enter a written agreement with the City of Madison (or its designee) making the Madison field the “Home LqPV” Varsity baseball site. Periodically (Ie., every four or five years) the School Board will review the agreement with the City to make sure it is an agreement both parties want to continue.

As part of the School Board review, should the City of Appleton make improvements to the city field, the school board will be open to discussion about scheduling appropriate grade level games at that site.

The upgrades include:

• Renovation and modernization of the high school theater. The facility hasn’t been upgraded since our first year in the building (September, 1990).

• Enhancement of an Agriculture classroom to include a functioning “grow lab” instead of building an outdoor green house.

• Replace or make badly needed improvements to several outdoor facilities at the high school including:

          • Remove and replace sidewalks on west side of high school (originally installed in June 1990).

          • Construct 7 new tennis courts replacing the current courts, which after 30 years have started to disintegrate and become unusable.

          • Remove and replace the track surface (last resurfaced in June of 2004).

          • Make improvements to the Jr. high and Jr. varsity baseball fields (redesign the dugout and backstop locations, install infield irrigation, re          landscape infields/outfields, relocate fences, etc.) (Note: A written agreement will be developed between the School District and the City (or its designee) identifying the Madison Baseball complex as the “Home LqPV” Varsity baseball site. The agreement will be reviewed periodically (Ie., every four or five years) to determine if any changes are warranted.)

          • Modernize Softball Complex - replace single station bathrooms, concession stand and press box, provide irrigation, improve dugouts and provide safety netting (meet safety/cleanliness codes).

          • Remove two unused baseball fields and repurposing that acreage to become ag plots available to enhance agriculture and science programs.

No, they were not.

There is a straight-forward answer. The condition of most of the facilities at that time did not warrant replacing or upgrading. However, had the additional work been added to the 2019 referendum project, it would have increased the cost of the 2019 referendum by approximately $6.5 million (after adjusting for inflation).

Extracurricular activities are more than just sports. They include band, choir, drama, speech, knowledge bowl, athletics and many other “non-sport” activities. All of these activities are very important to many students and families. The fact is the actual net costs of extracurricular activities make up a small part of the overall budget—less than 3%. If the school board made significant cuts in these areas, there is a strong possibility students will leave LqPV to attend other districts. Subsequently, our overall revenues will decline significantly which will result in fewer academic opportunities for our students. While it is hard to quantify, it is hard to argue with the amount of learning, joy, and entertainment that students, parents, and the general public get from participating in or watching students perform in these act ivies. But the benefit is significant!

No. The 2019 Referendum renovating the MMN Elementary School, the A-M Elementary School and the LQPV High School was led by the firm UNESCO/SitelogIQ. SitelogIQ completed its work in July of 2023 and they no longer have a contract with the LqPV School District. In the fall of 2022, the LqPV School Board reached out to a highly regarded architecture and engineering firm, Wold Architects and Engineers, to discuss the HVAC replacement project (approved in January 2023) as well as the needs for upgrades to the Theater, Ag Classroom/Grow Lab and the outdoor facility projects identified elsewhere in this brochure. Wold will be assisting us in this project if it is approved.

The air handling systems at the LqPV High School were originally installed when the building was constructed in 1990, thirty-three (33) years ago. Two of the air-handlers were replaced and those costs were included in the 2019 referendum. The remainder of the original air handlers were functioning properly and there was no need to replace them in 2019. Now, four years later, the units are reaching the end of their functional life expectancy. The number of break downs we have experienced have increased significantly in the last two years.

In addition, the high school building has no windows that open and indoor air quality is entirely dependent upon appropriate air flow. As is the case with any homeowner, when the heating or air-conditioning systems break down they have to be fixed or replaced. The same is true of the indoor air systems in our school building. The building will become unusable for its intended purpose if the air handling systems break down and we lose air-flow.

Minnesota Statute recognizes the importance of indoor air quality and has given school boards special authority to make a discretionary levy (with State approval) to replace air handling equipment when it is prudent to do so. Consequently, in January of 2023, recognizing the replacement project would take at least two years to complete and the units needing replacement were already 33 years old, the School Board determined it was reasonable to authorize the levy to fund the replacement project.

If the project would have been included in the 2019 referendum, the overall cost of the referendum would have increased by approximately $13 million.

The LqPV School District is a comprehensive district and educates about 780 Kindergarten-12th grade students. An important part of operating a comprehensive school program is providing meaningful activities in the extracurricular arena. This includes band, choir, drama, as well as a broad array of athletic activities.

The Theater at the LqPV High School as well as many of our outdoor athletic facilities are in need of upgrades. Most of these facilities, including the sidewalks surrounding the high school building, have had no or little attention since the high school was first constructed in 1990.

In addition, the number of students we serve directly is about half of what it was when the building was first occupied. Consequently, in an effort to remain competitive, from time to time we have agreed to cooperate in offering these activities with nearby district(s). Cooperating with other districts allows us to continue offering a broad variety of activities to our students as well as students from cooperating schools. There may be more cooperatives in the future.

The bottom line is we are trying to maintain broad opportunities for LqPV students to participate and further develop their skills at a cost that is most economical.

The total amount the referendum asks for in bonding authority is $6.575 million dollars. If approved, the bonds will be repaid over ten (10) years. Across the entire LqPV School District, the cost of this project on different parcels of land is shown on page 6 of this brochure. Costs of specific parcels of property may be determined by using the QR Code Tax Calculator (shown on page 6) and entering the specific property parcel number. Also shown on page 6 of the brochure are more general tax implications for a home valued at $125,000 where taxes will increase approximately $35 per year or $2.91 per month.

Because of the 70% Ag2School tax credit, the tax increase on one homesteaded acre of land valued at $8,000 per acre will be $0.42 cent annually or $0.04 cents per month.

See images above.

Even if the school had other options for funding this project, it is absolutely clear that the Ag2School credit is the best financial decision for the district and its taxpayers. In rural Minnesota, many school districts have tax bases that are comprised primarily of agricultural properties. State leaders recognized this fact, and foresaw the resulting difficulties that rural districts would face in asking the public to approve facilities project referendums.

In 2019, the legislature passed an expansion of the Ag2School tax credit program, significantly reducing the tax burden on agricultural landowners. Through Ag2School, the State pays 70% of the annual property taxes on agricultural properties related to this kind of referendum. Using projected 2024 figures, the tax base of the LqPV School District will be 81% agricultural, meaning that 56.5% of the debt service for this referendum will be paid by the State of Minnesota. To put this another way, if the school borrowed $6,575,000, more than $3.72 million would be paid by the State, and local taxpayers would only pay $2.86 million.

To review the exact amount of tax impact on parcels of property you may own, please use the Tax Impact Calculator

Yes. The School Board has scheduled public meetings on:

                    • Monday, October 16, 2023 at 6:30 pm at MMN Elementary School Gymnasium

                    • Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 6:30 pm at the LqPV High School Theatre

                    • Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 6:30 pm at Appleton-Milan Elementary School Gymnasium

In addition, small group meetings may be scheduled with District Leaders by calling LqPV Admin Assistant, Lisa Bungarden (school phone is 320-752-4813 or email her at lbungarden@lqpv.org) to arrange a time and place to meet. You are also encouraged to visit the District website at www.lqpv.org for more information; or stop by the District Office at LqPV High School.

The State of Minnesota allows for absentee voting as a fast, convenient and secure alternative for those who cannot make it to their assigned polling place on Election Day.

From Sept. 22 through Nov. 6, voters can cast their absentee ballots in-person at the LqPV District Office from 7:30 a.m to 4:00 p.m. with the exception of Appleton City residents who, due to a jointly held City election, may cast absentee ballots at the Appleton Civic Center weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

An absentee ballot application may be obtained by contacting Lisa Bungarden in the District Office at 320-752-4813 or by email at lbungarden@lqpv.org. Mailed ballot materials will include detailed instructions and a pre-posted return envelope.