Heartland school board members (Gary Braun, Ryan Goertzen, Jennifer Hiebner, Tammy Ott, Tyler Newton, Lacey Gloystein), superintendent Jeremy Klein, and elementary principal Dana Reinke at their February meeting.
The Heartland School Board officially approved a resolution calling for an election to issue general obligation bonds at the May 14 primary election during their February 12 regular meeting. The bond amount is $6,850,000, which will be used for the additional funding needed to complete the original successful $7 million bond passed in May 2022. It was a unanimous vote by all six board members to accept the resolution.
The Heartland board chose this action after the failed increased tax authority election held back in an August special mail-in election. Unlike that election, which required a 60% majority to pass, the bond will only need a simple majority. Read here for a previous post explaining the background of the project.
The current projected cost to complete the entire project is $13,684,145. This new bond of $6,850,000 will cover the net gap financing needed since the first $7 million bond was passed. It proved inadequate to even begin the project when the bids were released, and they came in much too high, so the project was halted early in 2023.
The school board has not finalized what a scaled-down $7 million version of the project would look like if the new bond does not pass. It will be presented to the public before the May election so voters will be informed about the expected cuts.
It’s been a long and difficult journey for this project, but if this new bond is passed, construction may finally begin, and Heartland will get the long-awaited expansion and needed improvements for its facility.
SAMPLE BALLOT AS IT WILL APPEAR AT MAY 14 STATEWIDE PRIMARY
The Heartland School Board released this regional/area & state levy comparison for Heartland currently and if the 2024 Bond passes:
Here are the calculations for the estimated 2024 Bond Election:
