Frequently Asked Questions for Kingsland Public Schools


questions about the process

  • Community stakeholders, our school board, district, and administration have worked hard to bring a plan forward that best addresses our long-term needs while managing taxpayer dollars wisely. Our physical facility needs were identified nearly a decade ago as we started our long-range facilities planning process to help plan for future maintenance efforts.

    We are thankful our district was able to remodel the first and second floors of the 1957 portion of our building using board-approved funding in 2019, however, additional physical facility needs remain and have only increased in urgency since that time. Our maintenance staff has done a good job taking care of our facility, but annual state-provided funds only go so far and can’t address additional physical facility needs that go beyond those budgets.

    We continued our facilities and long-range planning journey by involving our Facilities Committee; hiring ICS, an experienced K-12 planning and construction management firm, and Baird, our district’s experienced financial advisor; completing a comprehensive facility assessment to understand the physical conditions of our school; hiring The Garland Company to complete an analysis on all remaining roof sections of our school, completing a space utilization efficiency study to determine our current and future space needs; completing a utility analysis, a demographics study, a comprehensive financial analysis, and gathering additional feedback through community listening sessions in October 2023 and May 2024.

    After all facility needs were prioritized and discussed, they were presented to the board for further consideration. On Monday, June 17, the Kingsland School Board unanimously approved the resolution to present two ballot questions to residents on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Learn more about the process here.

  • Our Facilities Committee was involved from the beginning of this process to help further understand, identify, and prioritize our facility needs.

    This committee included School Board Clerk Steve Tammel, High School Principal Dana Simmons, Buildings & Grounds Director Nate Carolan, Superintendent Scott Klavetter, along with two teachers and two community members.

  • The district has provided the MDE with all required documentation for the referendum with the submission of a formal “Review & Comment.” The MDE reviews all information submitted to ensure the proposed project is both educationally and financially appropriate for the district and community. Click here to view the Review & Comment on our Resources Page.

  • Both a building bond referendum and an operating levy need to be approved by district voters and are funded with local property taxes. However, building bond referendum funds can only be used for construction including additions, renovations, or new construction. Operating levies are a legally separate funding source to support classrooms and educational programs, including curriculum, supplies, salaries, and other important operational expenses. 

    A two-question building bond referendum is being proposed to voters on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

  • A plan to address several of our facility needs was brought to voters in a $13.715 million single-question bond referendum in November 2016, which voters rejected at that time with 845 yes votes and 1,897 no votes.

    In November 2019, local voters approved an operating levy that increased the per pupil amount by $714 for a total of 10 years with 930 yes votes and 520 no votes. This funding allowed the district to purchase curriculum and equipment that supported Career and Technical Education (CTE), including a 3D printer, a CNC plasma cutter, a vinyl cutter, and a heat press. These pieces of equipment allowed our district to develop new CTE courses for our high school students.

    We are grateful for the support of our communities to expand this curriculum and have spent those taxpayer dollars wisely to positively impact our students and their potential futures.

questions about our challenges

  • There are two main facility challenges facing our district – 1) our school requires critical maintenance improvements to continue serving Kingsland well and 2) our school requires improved, dedicated spaces to meet today’s educational needs. Learn more about our facility challenges here.

  • Our physical facility needs were identified nearly a decade ago as we started our long-range facilities planning process to help with future maintenance planning efforts.

    We are thankful our district was able to remodel the first and second floors of the 1957 portion of our building using board-approved funding in 2019, however, additional physical facility needs remain and have only increased in urgency since that time. Our maintenance staff has done a good job taking care of our facility, but annual state-provided funds only go so far.

    Our primary physical facility needs that exceed available funding provided by the State of Minnesota include:

    • Replacing the existing roof with the exception of the gymnasium, which was done in 2023, to improve water build-up and clogged drains.

    • Making various building envelope repairs, such as tuckpointing and exterior sealants, on the 1957, 1962, and 1976 portions of the facility.

    • Replacing the aged windows on the 1957 and 1962 portions of our facility to stop leaks and ensure overall building efficiency.

    • Making upgrades and repairs to the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in portions of the lower level of the 1952, 1962, and 1975 portions of our facility. Building systems from the 2008 addition are nearing the end of their useful life.

    • Making repairs and replacing select existing curbs and sidewalks and repair, reseal, and re-stripe the existing asphalt areas of our parking lots, as needed to extend their useful life.

    • Completing improvements to our playground to improve safety, repairing and replacing the existing outdoor recess, physical education, and athletic equipment storage buildings that are inadequate and not functioning well, and replacing outdated and aging interior doors, door hardware, and flooring.

  • Educational delivery has greatly changed since our building was originally built in 1957. At the time, our facility provided general classrooms along with space for Early Childhood and Special Education. In 1962, space to support music and physical education was added; a Career and Technical Education (CTE) shop was added in 1976; and classrooms, office space, cafeteria, and kitchen space were added in 2008.

    Although our district has operated well with a single facility for the past seven years, some of our existing spaces are not currently accommodating our evolving programming and curriculum. Programming and education will only continue to grow and evolve over time, and our goal is to provide right-sized educational spaces to ensure all students succeed. Results from our space utilization efficiency study showed that several classrooms are undersized, support spaces and Special Education spaces are 32% below MDE’s guidelines, and educational day-use gymnasium space is 27% below MDE’s guidelines.

    In addition, what our district provides to our community today has changed since our original facility was built. For example, since our building was originally built, breakfast is now provided and adult programming is included as part of Community Education. Currently, the district does not have dedicated Community Education space, which limits adult and community programs to outside school hours when classrooms can be shared.

    We lack dedicated space to support our physical education curriculum during the school day. While the existing cafeteria has been repurposed as an auxiliary gym for after-school activities, it is currently used to provide three breakfast periods and four lunch periods for PK-12 students throughout the school day. This means all K-12 physical education classes must be held in the main gym during the school day. Class schedules for all elementary and high school classes, including math and reading, are developed around the availability of shared gym space for physical education classes, which limits flexibility and course offerings for all core content areas.

    In addition, our original locker rooms, located in the lower level of our building, require significant mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades, and are not ADA-compliant. Our existing weight room is also undersized and not ADA-compliant and is housed at the site of the former stage on the east side of our competition gym.

  • Yes. Over the last several years, our district and facility staff have done a great job keeping our facility maintained, and have been able to make improvements as dollars allow. However, several facility and programmatic needs extend beyond our annual maintenance budgets allocated from the State of Minnesota.

    Asking for voter-approved dollars is common across the state — more than 75% of Minnesota school districts have leveraged bond referendums to improve the conditions of their facilities. The physical and educational needs of our school will continue to worsen the longer we wait to address them.

questions about the plan

  • On Tuesday, November 5, residents of Kingsland Public School District will decide whether to invest $20.4 million to address critical maintenance needs in our existing school, improve educational spaces, and create additional space for community education and physical education.

    Residents will decide on a total of two ballot questions – Question One requests $8.9 million and Question Two requests an additional $11.5 million for a total of $20.4 million. Together, we are committed to Preserve Kingsland, Protect The Future. Question Two is contingent on passage of Question One.

    The school board feels confident that the proposed plan addresses our critical maintenance needs and educational programming needs to position Kingsland for the future while remaining fiscally-responsible to our taxpayers. Learn more about the proposed plan here.

  • Improvements in Question One are critical to ensuring our existing school can physically serve our students, staff, and community well for years to come. Ultimately, the improvements will address critical maintenance needs in our existing school, including:

    • Replace the existing roof with the exception of the gymnasium, which was done in 2023.

    • Complete various building envelope repairs on the 1957, 1962, and 1976 portions of the facility.

    • Replace the remaining aged windows on the 1957 and 1962 portions of our facility.

    • Upgrade and repair mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in portions of the lower level of the 1952, 1962, and 1975 portions of our facility.

    • Repair and replace select existing curbs and sidewalks and repair, reseal, and re-stripe the existing asphalt areas of our parking lots, as needed.

    • Complete improvements to our playground to improve safety, repair and replace the existing outdoor recess, physical education, and athletic equipment storage buildings, and replace outdated and aging doors, door hardware, and flooring.

  • Question Two proposes a building addition on the east side of our existing facility to:

    • Provide additional gymnasium space to support physical education use during the school day.

    • Provide a flexible classroom to support multiple uses, including Community Education that can be used for either youth or adult programming.

    • Create improved, ADA-compliant locker rooms.

    • Create an improved weights/fitness room and remodel the existing weight room located on the main gymnasium’s stage to use for other critical programming.

    • Provide additional storage space and family restrooms to support our students and community.

    • The addition would also meet building code requirements for storm shelters.

    Please note that Question Two cannot pass unless Question One also passes.

  • Addressing critical maintenance needs will best position our facility to physically serve our communities well for decades to come, such as our building systems, roof, and more.

    Providing adequate and right-sized spaces to serve all students and staff is the best long-term solution for our district, such as physical education during the school day and Community Education and other uses during other hours.

    Making these improvements allows the district to improve its overall operational efficiency and remain competitive with neighboring districts as educational opportunities to continue to evolve and change.

  • We lack dedicated space to support our physical education curriculum during the school day. While the existing cafeteria has been repurposed as an auxiliary gym for after-school activities, it is currently used to provide three breakfast periods and four lunch periods for PK-12 students throughout the school day. This means all K-12 physical education classes must be held in the main gym during the school day. Class schedules for all elementary and high school classes, including math and reading, are developed around the availability of shared gym space for physical education classes, which limits flexibility and course offerings for all core content areas.

  • If Question Two is approved and as one part of the new addition, the space will provide a flexible classroom to support Community Education that can be used for either youth or adult programming or other multipurpose programming such as meeting or practice space for student clubs or curricular activities, classroom space for health classes, rental space for non-school groups, and additional functional uses and programming. 

    The design phase of the project will help further determine how the classroom would be used to positively support our students, staff, and communities?

  • Yes. A conceptual drawings for Question Two of the plan is available on The Plan page. Please note that the drawing is conceptual and not finalized. If approved, the design process would involve stakeholder input to ensure the design best responds to those who would use the facility.

  • Our district’s goal is to remain stable and provide appropriate educational spaces to remain responsive and competitive as a district. If the proposed plan is not approved, our critical facility needs will remain unaddressed and will not go away. Annual maintenance dollars from the state only go so far, and items such as our roofs, building systems, building exterior, and more will only continue to increase with urgency. If the referendum fails, we will need to re-evaluate how to best address our facility needs, which could mean another voter-approved referendum.

  • State law does not permit different facility options to be presented to voters at the same time. This plan was deemed to represent the greatest value for the lowest cost after more than a year of planning and feedback from our community and stakeholders. The proposed plan was selected from several recommendations presented to the school board and aligns with feedback we’ve received from our community.

questions about design and construction

  • If approved on Tuesday, November 5, the design and pre-construction phase of the project would take place from November 2024 to early summer 2025. The project bid and award phase is currently planned to take place in summer 2025, and construction would take place from July 2025 to August 2027. Please note that this schedule may change because of material delays or unforeseen lead times. 

  • If the referendum passes, the district will begin the design process, led by the project architect. Community input is important during this process, and we will involve staff, administrators, community members, and students who will work collaboratively with the selected architect throughout the design process. Input would be asked for and encouraged to ensure the design of the renovated Kingsland facility best represents the students, staff, and community who will use it.

questions about the cost

  • Question One requests $8.9 million and Question Two requests an additional $11.5 million for a total of $20.4 million. If both questions are approved by voters, the district would invest $20.4 million into making improvements to our existing facility. Learn more about the cost here.

    Question Two is contingent on passage of Question One.

  • For a $200,000 residential home in the district, the estimated tax impact starting in 2025 would be $3.86 per month for Question One and an additional $4.92 per month for Question Two — a total of $8.78 per month if both questions are approved. Question Two cannot pass unless Question One also passes. 
    Click here to use our tax impact calculator and learn more about the cost here.

  • If both questions are approved, the tax for both questions would expire after 2050 or when the bonds for the project have been paid, whichever happens sooner.

  • Created by the State of Minnesota in 2017, the Ag2School Tax Credit was implemented to reduce the property tax impact of school debt referendums for agricultural landowners. The 70% credit is applicable to all agricultural land with the exception of the home, garage, and one acre of land surrounding an agricultural homestead. This is not a tax deduction – it’s a dollar-for-dollar credit and is an automatic tax credit paid directly by the state with no application required. This credit would remain at 70% for the life of the bond.

    If both questions are approved, approximately 39.67% of the total bond referendum’s principal and interest will be covered by the State of Minnesota’s Ag2School Tax Credit. This state-funded credit reduces the contribution percentage for agricultural landowners to slightly less than residential landowners. 

  • The district is working closely with ICS, a K-12 planning and construction firm, to ensure the project stays on budget. During the planning process, the district worked closely with Baird, the district’s financial advisor, to provide an external financial review and model several options to further understand what improvements our district could support. 

    If Question One or both questions are approved, our district will work with ICS to ensure the project remains on track using various tools including monthly updates, budget tracking, comprehensive project documentation, and more.

    In addition, once a referendum is approved by local voters, the budget is firmly set for construction and cannot be increased or overspent. If both questions are approved, the district would invest a total of $20.4 million for key improvements to our school. Learn more about the plan here.

questions about voting

  • Public referendums, like ours, require voter approval to fund facility improvements, and we encourage all residents to be informed about the proposed plan and to cast their vote on or before Election Day. 
    There are three ways to vote on the upcoming bond referendum: 1) vote absentee in person, 2) vote absentee by mail, or 3) vote in person on Election Day. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, and absentee voting is available starting Friday, September 20, through Monday, November 4. Learn more about voting here.

  • Available starting Friday, September 20, through Monday, November 4, residents may vote absentee in person by visiting your respective county location during the following days and times. 

    • Fillmore County: 101 Fillmore Street, Preston, MN 55965 | Monday through Friday, except holidays, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 

    • Mower County: Government Center, 201 1st Street NE, Austin, MN 55912 (Please use the main entrance on the NW side of the Government Center) | Monday through Friday, except holidays, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 

    PLEASE NOTE: Extended in-person absentee voting hours are available for both counties during the following days and times: 

    • Saturday, October 26, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. 

    • Tuesday, October 29, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

    • Saturday, November 2, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

    • Sunday, November 3, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  

    • Monday, November 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

    Completed absentee ballots must be returned to your respective county auditor/treasurer’s office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day — Tuesday, November 5.

  • Available starting Friday, September 20, residents may vote absentee by mail by either contacting your respective county listed below by email or phone or by completing and returning an absentee ballot application to your respective county auditor/treasurer’s office here. 

    Completed absentee ballots must be returned to your respective county auditor/treasurer’s office by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day — Tuesday, November 5.

  • On Tuesday, November 5, polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for all residents except those in Frankford Township. Election Day polling hours for Residents of Frankford Township are 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

    Residents will cast their in person vote at their respective location on Election Day as shown below. Click here to verify your polling location.

    • Residents of Beaver Township in Fillmore County: Beaver Town Hall (13175 County 26, LeRoy, MN 55951)

    • Residents of Jordan Township in Fillmore County: Chatfield Center for the Arts (405 Main Street SW, Chatfield, MN 55923)

    • Residents Fountain Township and Sumner Township in Fillmore County: Fillmore County Auditor/Treasurer’s Office (101 Fillmore Street, Preston, MN 55965)

    • Residents of Forestville Township in Fillmore County: Forestville Town Hall (19232 County 5, Spring Valley, MN 55975)

    • Residents of Bloomfield Township in Fillmore County: Ostrander Community Center (410 Main Street, Ostrander, MN 55961)

    • Residents of Spring Valley City and Spring Valley Township in Fillmore County: Spring Valley Community Center (200 South Broadway, Spring Valley, MN 55975)

    • Residents of Wykoff City and Fillmore Township in Fillmore County: Wykoff Community Building (226 North Gold Street, Wykoff, MN 55990)

    • Residents of York Township in Fillmore County: York Town Hall (12245 County 5, Harmony, MN 55939)

    • Residents of Racine Township in Mower County: Racine United Methodist Church (401 East Main Street, Racine, MN 55967)

    • Residents of Frankford Township in Mower County: Frankford Township Hall (24517 770th Avenue, Grand Meadow, MN 55936)

      • Please Note: Election Day polling hours for residents of Frankford Township are 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

    To vote in person on Election Day, you must be registered to vote. You can register online here or in person on Election Day at your respective polling location.

  • Yes. Click here to register to vote or you can register to vote in-person on Election Day at your respective polling location. Click here to learn more.

  • Yes. A sample ballot can be viewed here. 

additional questions

  • Yes. Our district is committed to ensuring our residents are provided accurate, transparent, and timely information about our upcoming building bond referendum. Additional resources are available on our Resources Page, including our Fast Facts Flier, our Review and Comment, our School Board Resolution, and more.

  • We welcome and appreciate your feedback throughout this process. If you have any questions about the upcoming building bond referendum, we encourage you to complete a short form on our Connect Page, and we will do our best to respond within 48 hours.

  • Yes, an informational meeting or open house will be held about the bond referendum. We will inform our community once that meeting is scheduled and we encourage our community to consider attending to learn more about the bond referendum.