/Randall School District chart
The Randall School Board on Wednesday authorized seeking approval for a $5.5 million dollar capital referendum and a non-reccurring operational referendum to exceed the revenue limit by $675,000 per year for three years.
The resolutions authorizing the referendums were approved unanimously. They will appear on the April 3 ballot.
District administrator John Gendron said via a news release issued Thursday:
Randall School continues to provide an amazing learning environment for students. The staff at Randall is committed to ensure that every student is provided a positive environment, focused on the academic and emotional needs of every child. The operational referendum is needed because of continued reductions in school funding and the facility upgrades are needed for students and the community. The District prides itself in being fiscally responsive to the tax payers of the community and the Board of Education believes this plan is needed and meets the needs of our staff, students, and community.”
State aid to Randall has been reduced by $1,050,000, or 38 percent, in the last 10 years. The decrease in state funding has produced a gap between projected revenue and expenditures of over $2,000,000 in the next three years, school officials say.
The district says “a successful operational referendum to maintain current programming for students and a $5.5 million facility renovation and expansion will cost a taxpayer of a $200,000 home $88 per year or $7.33 per month.”
Items to be addressed by the capital referendum include “… addressing safety and security needs, expanding and remodeling of the cafeteria, the addition of four classrooms, including a new STEM science classroom, replacing the elementary roof, and making building infrastructure and site improvements.”
Public information forums are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 12 and March 7 at the school beginning at 6 p.m. in the library. District residents will also be receiving an informational flyer in the mail outlining the needs of the facilities and the scope of the planned projects. A dedicated referendum webpage will also be available on the school district website.
Randall last had an operational referendum in 2015. That referendum asked to exceed the revenue limit by $460,000 for three years on a non‐recurring basis. It passed 339 for yes and 90 for no.
Here’s the entire press release.
