The Crookston School District voters overwhelmingly approved the change to the school referendum (Question 1) and a new bus garage (Question 2). The voters also overwhelmingly approved Mike Theis to fill the open seat on the school board. “It is a big day,” said Crookston School District Superintendent Jeremy Olson. “I am so thankful for the community and how they showed up in support of our school and they are giving us stability for the next 10 years financially with the operating referendum and also allowing us to solve the transportation situation with a bus garage. I am very thankful for the community for their support and I also want to give a big shout out to the staff that worked on getting this out there and the school board. I am very grateful all-around.”
Question 1 – Operating referendum
The voters approved the Operating referendum (Question 1) 1,085 to 335. The school district is repealing its current operating referendum of $604 and replacing it with a $523 operating referendum. “We are actually bringing taxes down as the pool has transferred over to the city,” said Superintendent Olson. “That (the yes vote) stabilizes funding the educational funding component for another 10 years. It gives us stability financially over the next 10 years while bringing taxes down and I would say that is a good deal.”
Yes – 1,085
No – 335
Question 2 – Bus Garage
The district residents overwhelmingly approved a new bus garage by a 998 to 423 margin. Superintendent Olson put a Bus Garage committee together and it involved people from the community and the ag sector. “The community committee that we had was absolutely instrumental in picking a design that fit Crookston’s needs and trying to bring it in at a price point that was realistic,” said Superintendent Olson. “All the work that they did and the countless hours they spent working on this and debating different designs and talking about the best options. Their hard work really paid off.”
Yes – 998
No – 423
School Board Special Election (to fill Kari Miller’s spot)
Mike Theis won the Crookston School Board Special Election by beating Jim McBride 890 to 438 to fill the opening left when Kari Miller moved out of the district. “Both candidates were outstanding and it felt like we couldn’t lose,” said Superintendent Olson. “Both candidates were passionate about the school and passionate about moving us forward. Thank you to Jim for running and welcome on board to Mike.”
Mike Theis – 890
Jim McBride – 438
The Next Step for the District –
Now that the vote is down the Crookston School District will have to prepare to build a new bus garage. “Our next step is to sit down with the architects and make sure we start putting our bid packets together so they can be publicly bid,” said Superintendent Olson. “If you are a contractor and you are interested in this, you will be seeing some information on this and we will look at bidding it out this winter.”
