Vote For New Sartell High School Could be on May 24th

SARTELL - The Sartell-St. Stephen school board is leaning towards a May 24th special election vote for a new high school and facility updates across the district.

The board originally discussed a May 31st vote that would have required mail ballots. School board Chair Krista Durrwachter says having the vote earlier will keep it from landing close to Memorial Day. It will also reduce confusion that could come with mail ballots.

"We initially talked about a May 31st vote, we've moved to May 24th because we have some more flexibility. There's also reasons to not have it around a holiday."

The district is putting together a resolution to bond for the facility upgrades. Right now the board is leaning towards bonding $105.9 million over 25 years for the project.

The board discussed the voting timeline and bonding plan during their work session on Wednesday night. No action will be taken on the plan until their Monday night board meeting.

A closed session discussion was also held Wednesday night about where a new high school could go. Specific locations are expected to be discussed publicly during their Monday night meeting.

In November 2015, a community task force recommended the district build a new high school and update their other buildings. The decision was made in order to address space crunches and a growing student population.