For many years, our district has worked hard to maintain safe and efficient schools with the limited resources available. Minnesota provides about $1 per square foot for long-term facility maintenance—far below the $4 per square foot recommended by national experts. This funding gap makes it impossible for districts to keep pace with true costs.

A 2020 facility assessment completed by Kraus Anderson identified $77 million in deferred maintenance needs. By prioritizing critical projects and using creative planning, we reduced that backlog to $45 million currently—without asking taxpayers for more. These efforts show our strong commitment to responsible stewardship.

Even so, the gap between state funding and actual needs continues to grow. Like most Minnesota schools, addressing these needs requires a community-supported bond referendum. This is not mismanagement, but the reality of how districts and communities work together to keep schools safe, modern, and welcoming.

Now we are asking our community to join us in addressing the remaining $45 million in needs, so students and staff have the facilities they deserve—today and into the future.

Like most Minnesota school districts, our District faces a significant amount of deferred maintenance, and we are committed to addressing these needs strategically. The district has made progress addressing critical infrastructure needs – all without increasing taxes – however our budget does not cover all of the needs in our District. 

Many of our facilities require significant updates due to their age. Their wear is evident, highlighting the need for improvement. At the same time, we have an opportunity to reimagine both the appearance and functionality of our buildings to meet modern learning needs.

We are committed to our mission to educate, empower, and inspire every student, every day. As part of our strategic priority to modernize learning spaces, we recognize that where students learn matters. Modern learning environments look and function differently than traditional classrooms—offering flexible, student-centered spaces that support collaboration, creativity, and real-world learning.

Instead of fixed rows of desks, modern classrooms feature adaptable layouts, breakout areas for small group work, integrated technology, natural light, and furnishings that encourage movement and engagement. These spaces are designed to support a wide range of teaching approaches and learning styles—helping every Bluejacket feel connected, challenged, and ready to thrive.

Investing in these environments is not about aesthetics; it’s about giving our students and educators the tools and settings they need to succeed. Whether it’s project-based learning, career-focused labs in areas like robotics or healthcare, or collaborative problem-solving exercises, modern learning spaces help prepare Bluejackets for the future. Just like a lab equips a scientist to do their best work, a modern classroom empowers Bluejackets to reach their full potential.

Click here for examples of modern learning environments.

The district has made significant progress in improving our facilities and addressing critical infrastructure needs through innovative solutions. Similar to classroom funding, the financial resources allocated to facility maintenance are often insufficient to cover all deferred maintenance requirements. Our district's buildings vary widely in age, with some as new as five years old and others nearing a century.

In 2022, we implemented a strategic and creative plan to invest $18 million in critical infrastructure improvements, energy efficiency upgrades, and other essential projects—all without increasing taxes. This initiative has allowed us to preserve and enhance our oldest buildings while ensuring a safe and modern learning environment for students and staff.

Our facilities are built on solid foundations, but many require significant updates due to their age. Their wear is evident, highlighting the need for improvement. At the same time, we have a valuable opportunity to reimagine both the appearance and functionality of our buildings, transforming them to meet the needs of a modern learning environment.

School district facilities are community assets, but like most Minnesota school districts, our district faces a significant amount of deferred maintenance, and we are committed to addressing these needs strategically. A portion of the required work can be funded through our Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) funds, which provide essential support for facility upkeep. However, the total maintenance needs exceed the available funding.

For this reason, this will be part of the comprehensive facility plan the Task Force will develop over the coming months. Our objective is to systematically address the most pressing maintenance concerns while working toward a sustainable future where LTFM funds are sufficient to maintain our facilities for years to come.

Several key facilities needs have been identified to support our growing and dynamic community and fall into the following categories: 

• Deferred Maintenance: Address overdue maintenance to ensure our facilities are safe and functional. 

• Safety and Security: Enhance safety measures to provide a secure learning environment for all students and staff. 

• Capacity: Expand our facilities to accommodate increasing student enrollment and community growth. 

• Modernization and Innovative Learning Spaces: Create learning environments that support programming demands and foster creativity and innovation. 

• Recreation, Athletics, and Activities: Improve and expand spaces for sports, recreation, and extracurricular activities to support student well-being and engagement. 

These needs reflect our commitment to providing a high-quality educational experience for every member of our community. 

Question 2 helps meet long-identified needs in our community by including the development of a Community Fieldhouse—a versatile indoor facility designed for use by both schools and the broader community.

The proposed Fieldhouse would include a walking/running track, fitness areas, locker rooms, and public meeting space. It would be open for community use, offering new opportunities for wellness, recreation, and connection—especially during Minnesota’s long winter months.

Importantly, these amenities reflect the top features identified in a recent regional study by Visible Cities. The study highlighted community priorities for a potential center, and features like indoor walking space and flexible recreation areas were among the highest-ranked by local residents.

The Community Fieldhouse is a meaningful step forward, expanding access to a multi-use space that supports student activities, healthy lifestyles, and community connection for residents of all ages.

The referendum items are grouped into broader categories—like safety and security improvements, mechanical upgrades, classroom renovations, and site work—so the community can clearly see the priorities and how the work supports our schools. A nearly 60-member Community Task Force—made up of parents, staff, students, business owners, and local residents—reviewed the facility assessments, cost estimates, and priorities in depth. This group carefully examined the detailed lists, asked questions, debated options, and developed the recommendations now before voters.

The district is committed to transparency and would love for community members to reach out. These details have been shared in public meetings, community presentations, and task force sessions, and anyone who wants to review the full list of line items is encouraged to call or schedule an appointment. We are happy to answer questions and walk you through every detail.

The district’s goal is to keep the community informed while making the information clear, accessible, and focused on the improvements that matter most for safety, learning, and community use.

The new pathways are not optional - they are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure full accessibility for individuals with limited mobility and other physical needs.

If you’ve attended sporting events at our high school over the years, you know that our current pathways are not sufficient. Uneven surfaces, steep grades, and limited accessible routes make it difficult for many to get to the stands, restrooms, and other facilities.

These improvements are about more than compliance—they ensure that all community members can attend school events, regardless of age or disability. Safer, more accessible pathways mean grandparents, parents with strollers, veterans, and individuals with mobility challenges can participate fully in our school and community life.

This investment is part of the district’s deferred maintenance plan to upgrade building automation systems—specifically the heating, cooling, and ventilation controls in our schools. The graphics are the interface that maintenance staff use to monitor and adjust HVAC systems across all district buildings.

Upgrading this technology improves indoor air quality for students and staff by allowing more precise control of temperature, airflow, and filtration. It also makes HVAC systems much more efficient—helping reduce utility costs by an estimated 20–40% through smarter scheduling, occupancy sensing, and system optimization.

This is a practical investment that supports health, comfort, and long-term cost savings for the district, students, and staff.

These items are essential replacements, not luxuries, ensuring safety, compliance, and reliability for students, staff, and the community.

• Athletic field lights: Installed in the 1970s, these lights are at the end of their life. They provide poor visibility, have caused safety concerns -worth noting, one fixture even caught fire during a soccer game last year. Replacing them ensures safe, reliable lighting for all school and community events.

• Performing Arts Center (PAC) curtains: The curtains have reached the end of their life and need replacement to meet current fire safety codes. The PAC is a valued space for school performances, local productions, concerts, and community events, and these upgrades help protect this important resource.

• Wireless microphones: The current microphones are outdated and unreliable. New microphones are essential for instruction, performances, presentations, and community events throughout the district.

These updates support safety, accessibility, and compliance while maintaining spaces that serve thousands of students and community members every year.

This walkway is actually a catwalk over the media center, a central hub of learning in the school. In recent years, it has posed a serious fall risk for students, and several safety incidents have occurred. Adding a fully enclosed glass barrier will eliminate this risk while preserving the only source of natural light in the space.

If we used solid sheetrock instead of glass, the media center would lose all natural light—significantly changing the atmosphere and learning experience for students. The glass solution keeps the area bright, welcoming, and safe.

It’s also worth noting that this improvement represents less than one penny per month for the average household as part of the referendum, yet it delivers a meaningful safety upgrade for students.

While our district has done a commendable job maintaining facilities and addressing critical infrastructure needs, the reality is that aging systems eventually reach the end of their useful life. Mechanical systems, roofing, interiors, and exteriors now require replacement—not just repair. This is not a reflection of neglect, but of natural lifecycle expiration. Updating our aging buildings now avoids more expensive emergency repairs or replacements later. 

Moreover, educational needs have evolved. Our current learning environments lack the flexibility, technology, and specialized spaces that are now standard in modern education. These limitations impact our ability to deliver high-quality instruction and offer the same educational experiences as other districts in our area.

Expanding and strengthening Career & Technical Education (CTE)—also known as vocational programming—is a major priority in this referendum. Our community has made it clear—they want more opportunities for students to graduate with real-world skills, industry certifications, and pathways to high-demand careers. This plan directly invests in making that happen across trades, technology, healthcare, and other emerging fields.

The referendum would:

• Renovate and expand CTE/vocational classrooms and labs for trades such as manufacturing, construction, welding, automotive technology, agriculture, and culinary arts.

• Upgrade equipment and technology to meet current industry standards, preparing students for immediate employment or advanced technical training.

• Create flexible learning spaces to support emerging programs in healthcare, IT, and other high-demand fields.

• Improve safety and functionality in hands-on learning areas, ensuring modern, well-equipped environments.

For example, the proposed culinary arts lab is not a luxury—it’s a career-preparation space where students gain hands-on experience in food science, nutrition, hospitality, and business skills. Just like agriculture is evolving with drones and precision technology, every industry is changing rapidly. We must prepare students for a future we can’t fully imagine yet, with facilities that mirror the real-world environments they’ll encounter.

These investments build on the success of our current programs, which have already saved families millions in tuition through industry certifications and college credit opportunities. By expanding CTE/vocational capacity, we strengthen our local workforce, support area businesses, and give our students the competitive edge they deserve in a rapidly changing world.

From the very beginning, this proposal has addressed a broad set of needs identified through years of community and stakeholder input, facility assessments, and careful planning—not just maintenance. Replacing aging systems and addressing deferred maintenance is one important part of the plan, but the full package also includes:

• Safety and security improvements

• Modernizing learning spaces and technology upgrades

• Capacity solutions to address enrollment pressures

• Enhancing community-accessible recreational, athletic, and activity spaces

These priorities came directly from the work of a nearly 60-member Community Task Force, which included parents, staff, students, business owners, civic leaders, and residents. The Task Force carefully reviewed facility assessments, staff and community surveys, and professional studies before recommending a plan that balances maintenance needs with improvements to support learning, safety, and community use.

From the start, this referendum has been about the full vision for our schools. Our communications, presentations, and website have consistently shared the full scope of the plan, highlighting both essential maintenance and meaningful improvements for students and the community.

Restroom updates in the referendum focus on privacy, safety, and accessibility for everyone. Many of our restrooms are original to the buildings, making them outdated, harder to maintain, and not fully aligned with current building codes or accessibility standards.

The updated designs include modern, single-user restrooms in key locations. These provide greater privacy for all students and visitors—similar to restrooms you see in restaurants, coffee shops, airports, and shopping centers. This approach reduces wait times, improves safety and cleanliness, and ensures restrooms are welcoming for everyone, including those with disabilities, health needs, or young children.

These improvements also address practical needs:

• Ensuring ADA compliance so facilities are accessible to all

• Replacing aging plumbing fixtures to reduce maintenance costs and water usage

• Updating ventilation, lighting, and finishes to meet current health and safety standards

These common-sense updates bring our facilities up to the same standard you’d expect in other public places, while ensuring privacy and respect for every individual who uses them.

The referendum includes $1.7 million to install artificial turf at the high school stadium—a practical, long-term investment that improves safety, increases access, and reduces ongoing maintenance costs.

Research comparing artificial turf and natural grass fields has produced mixed results. Some studies show slightly higher rates of certain lower-extremity injuries on turf, while others find no difference—or even lower injury rates—depending on field condition, footwear, and upkeep. What matters most for safety is consistent maintenance and surface quality. Modern turf systems include shock-absorbing layers and advanced infill materials that help reduce risk and ensure reliable playing conditions throughout the year.

In Minnesota, natural grass fields are often unplayable for long stretches due to rain, snow, and freeze–thaw cycles. These conditions lead to frequent cancellations, uneven surfaces, and higher injury risks. Installing turf helps address these challenges by providing:

• Consistent, safe playing conditions for physical education, athletics, and community activities

• Extended seasonal use from early spring through late fall

• Cost efficiency over time, eliminating expenses for watering, mowing, fertilizing, re-sodding, and field rotation

• Environmental benefits, including reduced water use, no fertilizer or pesticide application, and prevention of chemical runoff

• Expanded access for physical education, adapted programs, youth sports, marching band, and community events

• Positive local economic impact through tournaments and activities that bring visitors to area businesses

Modern turf systems are also manufactured without PFAS and are recyclable at end-of-life. Across Minnesota and the nation, hundreds of high schools, colleges, and recreation programs safely use turf to maximize safety, durability, and community access.

Over time, the savings in maintenance and the increased year-round use of the facility help offset the initial investment, making it a responsible, sustainable choice. Cambridge-Isanti is currently the only district of its size in Minnesota without turf, continuing to face the limitations and higher long-term costs of natural grass. This investment is about safety, opportunity, and long-term value for students and the community alike.