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RANDOLPH – Randolph School District patrons will be asked once again to support a bond for school improvements.
Voters will decide on an $8.75 million school bond issue at a special election May 13.
The current proposal is $1 million less than a previous bond measure that narrowly failed by just eight votes last November.
At the general election last November, the bond issue failed by only eight votes.
In preparation for the election, both the high school and elementary buildings will be open for patrons to walk through at two school open houses planned for the next two weeks.
Open houses are planned for Tuesday, April 15, and Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Members of the school bond committee will be available at each open house to answer questions. Partners from BD Construction and Northland Securities will be available at the April 22 meeting to answer financial impact questions.
The revised bond figure reflects the district’s responsiveness to community feedback and commitment to fiscal responsibility, said Board President Paul Schmit.
“We listened carefully to community concerns and held multiple informational sessions to explain the urgent needs our schools continue to face,” Schmit said. “This revised proposal reflects that feedback while still addressing our most critical infrastructure issues.”
The revised bond proposal also includes a more efficiently designed Career Technical Education building to reduce costs while still meeting educational needs, said Supt. Darrel Schrunk.
“We’ve right-sized the CTE facility based on our current and projected enrollment,” he said. “The art room will remain in the high school building, and we’ve designed shared shop spaces that can accommodate multiple programs. This approach allows us to provide highquality career and technical education facilities while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. This helped us reduce the overall bond amount while still delivering the educational spaces our students require.”
The bond will fund several improvements, including: Safety and Security Enhancements • A secure vestibule at the elementary to better monitor visitor access
• Modern fire sprinklers and alarm systems in the elementary to meet current code requirements
• A storm shelter in the new CTE building Elementary School Preservation
• Updating the 1960s-era electrical system to support modern classroom technology
• Energy-efficient windows
• Replacing the original boiler with a new HVAC system
• Adding a girls’ restroom on the second floor and an additional boys’ restroom on the first floor Career and Technical Education Improvements
• A new CTE building to replace the aging Agriculture building, providing versatile space for shop, welding, construction, and agriculture programs that serve more than 60 percent of RPS middle and high school students Operational Efficiency
• Adding a serving kitchen within the elementary to eliminate the need for daily busing of students to the high school for lunch. This serving kitchen will be used to warm and serve food prepared in the main kitchen at the high school
• Climate control improvements for the Randolph Senior High gymnasium Many of the systems targeted for replacement are operating well beyond their intended lifespan, with the elementary’s original boiler now so outdated that replacement parts are no longer available, Schrunk said.
“These improvements are essential for the safety, efficiency, and educational quality of our schools,” he said. “The fact that we came within eight votes of passing in November tells us that many in our community recognize these urgent needs.”
Cedar County Clerk Jessica Schmit is preparing to mail 1,159 ballots in the upcoming special election for Randolph Public Schools’ bond issue.
The school district encompasses voters from not only Cedar County but also Wayne and Pierce counties but Schmit will be the one coordinating the election from her office in Hartington.
While those in Cedar County are used to receiving ballots by mail, voters in Pierce and Wayne counties will also be receiving their ballots by mail and not going to a polling place for the special bond election, she said.
Ballots are set to mail Monday, April 21. The ballots then must be returned by 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 13.
One significant change for a special election is that those returning ballots by mail must stamp the return envelope, Schmit said. In a primary or general election, the postage is paid.
Voters can also return their ballots in person at their respective county clerk’s office or at ballot drop boxes at their respective county courthouses.
Voters must also comply with the Voter ID provisions by writing in their driver’s license number or including a photocopy of it.
“The envelopes will look a little bit different and so I would just encourage everyone to read the instructions,” Schmit said.
The deadline to register to vote is Friday, April 25, by mail or online. For those registering to vote after the ballots have been mailed, one can be issued over the counter at the Cedar County Clerk’s Office.
