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November 7th

A Message from the Superintendent

On April 1, 2023, the Browerville school district lost a critical classroom space when our high school gymnasium roof collapsed. Having a high school gymnasium plays a vital role in the education and lives of our students, families, and the community. It is used as a classroom for seven hours each day for instruction and is an essential space for athletics training and competition, band and choir concerts, kindergarten round-up, book fairs, and school assemblies. It is also a gathering space for community events like Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day ceremonies, art shows, and much more.

On August 22, 2023, the Browerville Board of Education passed an official resolution to move forward with a special election on November 7, 2023. This one question ballot will ask voters to approve funding to rebuild the high school gymnasium, support spaces and to address other essential building needs.

The Browerville school board, administration, building consultants and the district’s financial advisor have all worked relentlessly since the collapsed to develop a plan that will not only create a safe and secure space for our students, teachers, and staff but also maximize legislative financial assistance, and minimize the overall tax burden to the community.

This is a very important time for the school district, students, families, and community. We appreciate the input and support for our long-term vision from each of our constituents and on behalf of the school board and administration, I would like to strongly encourage all voters to take the time to be fully informed and vote by November 7.

Sincerely,

Scott Vedbraaten
Superintendent of Schools

On April 1, 2023, after years of fatigue, the Browerville High School Gymnasium roof collapsed. The collapsed roof was determined to be due to a snow drift between the original build-year of 1948 and the 1975 addition. Due to the extensive damage and to protect the integrity of the school building, the gymnasium had to be demolished. The Browerville School Board and administrators immediately engaged:

Insurance Agents: Adjusters and structural engineers visited the site on several occasions to determine the cause of damage, assess whether any part of the structure was salvageable and to evaluate the potential cost of replacement.
Building Consultants and Financial Advisor: The district worked with consultants to identify needs and the financial feasibility of addressing those needs.
Lobbyists and Local State Representatives: Lobbyists worked with both the district and Representatives Utke and Weiner to aggressively attempt to secure funding in the 2023 Legislative Session however due to timing was unable to secure financial support. During this process, the district also met with representatives from the Governor’s Office, Minnesota Department of Education and Representatives Yoakam and Kunesh of the Education Finance Committee. In June, the district submitted an application for funding through the 2024 bonding bill and on August 17, was one stop out of twenty on the Senate Bonding tour.
Clarissa Building Owner: The district secured an agreement to rent the former Eagle Valley School District building in Clarrisa from the current, private owner, to utilize the gym space for the upcoming and 2024-25 school years. Costs associated with the use of this space will be covered by insurance, however, the use of the Clarissa gym is a short-term solution as there are significant transportation, utilities and maintenance costs associated with long term use.

The planning process to rebuild the gym included the board, administration, and a community task force who were also tasked with identifying critical building needs to realize cost efficiencies, maximize legislative financial assistance, and minimize the overall tax burden to the community. Input from the community was received throughout the process in a June 5 community engagement meeting, scientific survey and through an 11-member community taskforce.

After considering input from the scientific survey and stakeholder feedback, on August 22, 2023, the Browerville Board of Education voted unanimously to authorize the administration of the district to submit a Review and Comment to the Minnesota Department of Education outlining the required information for a plan to rebuild the high school gym and address other essential building needs.

Building consultants worked with the district to identify needs for replacement of the gymnasium and surrounding areas. This included both assessing the physical condition of the existing surrounding areas as well as the educational adequacy of the former gym and/or lack of support spaces compared to guidelines.

According to the Minnesota Department of Education guidelines, the former gymnasium and support spaces were undersized and inadequate, and some spaces did not exist:

The former gym was undersized.
The existing stage is significantly undersized.
The existing locker rooms are located under the existing stage and do not meet ADA requirements.
Existing locker rooms are undersized.
PE and athletic storage are not adequate.
There are no officials’ rooms.
Training space is inadequate.
Laundry space is inadequate.
The existing weight room is significantly undersized.
Existing hallways are used for athlete conditioning during cold/inclement weather. This is a safety concern as students cannot see around corners and doors open up into the hallways.
Existing restrooms are undersized to support a larger gym.
There is no lobby/commons space to support the existing gym.
There is no wrestling/multipurpose space within the existing facility.
The 1968 addition which houses the existing weightroom and a special education classroom will require significant structural upgrades to meet current code.

Click to view any of the following concept plans:

MAIN LEVEL

LOWER LEVEL

UPPER LEVEL

SITE DIAGRAM

A new high school gym will be constructed and sized to meet the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) guidelines, American Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and to accommodate student instruction and activities.

A student walking track will alleviate significant safety concerns with students’ use of school hallways to train, teacher’s use for those students with disabilities, and staff when using hallways at the same time to transition from space to space. There are many months students cannot use outdoor fields due to weather. For example, Minnesota typically doesn’t see complete snow melt until April when most teams have already begun their seasons, which forces students inside to run in hallways for practice. When the fields are wet, students cannot use them. The walking track will also be available for community use, however, for the safety and security of district students, access will be limited to non-student use outside of school hours of 7:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. and during both athletic practices and school events.

Additionally, the Browerville School district has been in a co-op for wrestling with the Long Prairie School District (LPGE) for the past 8 years and currently uses an outdated facility in LPGE for practices and events. The district’s program, which has been around since the late 60s, has grown significantly and unfortunately this space can no longer accommodate district students. There is also a lack of ventilation, security, and storage at the LPGE facility. A new dedicated wrestling /multipurpose space would be constructed to accommodate growth and would allow practice and home events to occur in Browerville. This space would potentially be used by other activities such as cheerleading and for students with disabilities.

The district’s student weight room area is also too small to support physical education and athletics. A new student weight room space would be constructed to accommodate current student use.

Question 1 of the district’s proposed project will ask for funding to construct a new high school gymnasium, physical education and athletic storage, training and laundry space, new ADA compliant locker rooms, officials’ rooms, a walking/running track, new lobby/commons space, larger restrooms to support the gym, improved ADA access to the new gym, a larger student weight room and a new wrestling/multipurpose room.

How would the approved referendum question affect property taxes?

If Question 1 is approved, the estimated property tax impact is $118.43 per year, or $9.86 per month, on a home worth $100,000 (median home value in the Browerville School District).

Will we get any assistance from the state?
The district is working with lobbyists, local representatives, and the governor’s office to secure funding through the 2024 legislative session:

The district will also take advantage of existing legislation:

Election Information

Vote on or before November 7, 2023

Register to Vote

In Minnesota, you can register at your polling place on Election Day

Same day registration checklist (Minnesota Secretary Of State – Register on Election Day)
If you would like to update your registration, or create a registration prior to election day click this link to Register online (Register to Vote or Update Your Registration – MNVotes)

Absentee Voting by Mail

Early voting for the General Election starts September 22. Please contact the Todd County Auditor/Treasurer’s Office at (320) 732-4469 to request an absentee ballot.

Election Day Voting

Any eligible voter residing in the School District may vote at said election at the polling place designated below. The polls for said election will be opened at 8:00 o’clock a.m. and will close at 8:00 o’clock p.m. on November 7, 2023.

Designated Polling Place:
Browerville City Hall
544 Main Street South
Browerville, MN 56438

A resident must be registered to vote to be eligible to vote in this election. An unregistered individual may register to vote at the combined polling place on election day.

Ballot Questions

Ballot-Question

General Questions:

Can the district re-build without an election?

No. Unfortunately, there is no other financial avenue outside of a voter-approved election for the district to rebuild the gym. If the referendum is unsuccessful, the district will need to go back to the voters in the spring or until an election is successful. This is not ideal as it will be at an additional cost to both the district and residents.

Is 6th street closing?

As the district plans for a new gymnasium, the location, elevations, and sizes of all utilities need to be identified and confirmed, typically within a block radius, to understand any potential impacts and how the addition will hook up to those utilities. A survey of this area will be required regardless of what is built for a replacement of the gym and is covered by insurance.

Is Park Ave closing?

Park Ave will close to pass through traffic. To accommodate the proposed addition, N Park Ave. will need to be closed between W 6th St and W 7th St. The southern half of this block of N Park Ave. is currently planned to remain as parking for the school and the proposed addition will sit on roughly the northern half of the block. The City of Browerville is aware of this requirement for the proposed addition.

Proposed Project:

Why is the district proposing a bigger gym?

The former High School Gym and support spaces were undersized and had inadequate seating by current standards. The district’s gym participation has changed since the 1948 initial build-year and the 1975 addition. For example, girls’ sports were just coming into fruition, and were not the level they are today, at the tmie of the addition. There are also more community activities utilizing the gym.

A new gym will need to be constructed to meet current state guidelines, which is larger than the initial 1948 build-year and 1975 addition and sized to accommodate increased school and community events. Although the proposed gym is larger than the demolished gym, the size is approximately two thirds the size of the gym in the Long Prairie School district and is in line with other districts of similar student populations.

Why is the district proposing to do additional projects now?

The student walking track, wrestling and weight rooms were spaces identified in the district’s facilities plan to be addressed in the next three years. Addressing these spaces now with the rebuilding of the gym leverages cost efficiencies, maximizes financial assistance offered from the state and minimizes the tax burden for the community:

A student walking track will alleviate significant safety concerns with students’ use of school hallways to train, teacher’s use for those students with disabilities, and staff when using hallways at the same time to transition from space to space. There are many months students cannot use outdoor fields due to weather. For example, Minnesota typically doesn’t see complete snow melt until April when most teams have already begun their seasons, which forces students inside to run in hallways for practice. When the fields are wet, students cannot use them. The walking track will also be available for community use, however, for the safety and security of district students, access will be limited to non-student use outside of school hours of 7:30 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. and during both athletic practices and school events.

Additionally, the Browerville School district has been in a co-op for wrestling with the Long Prairie School District (LPGE) for the past 8 years and currently uses an outdated facility in LPGE for practices and events. The district’s program, which has been around since the late 60s, has grown significantly and unfortunately this space can no longer accommodate district students. There is also a lack of ventilation, security, and storage at the LPGE facility. A new dedicated wrestling /multipurpose space would be constructed to accommodate growth and would allow practice and home events to occur in Browerville. This space would potentially be used by other activities such as cheerleading and for students with disabilities.

The district’s student weight room area is also too small to support physical education and athletics. A new student weight room space would be constructed to accommodate current student use.

How long will it take to build a new gym?

The construction timeline is contingent on what is selected by the board and ultimately approved by the community. Regardless of scope, plans must be designed, reviewed by the state of MN, and publicly bid prior to construction. It would take approximately 12-16 months from the start of construction to completion. A new gym should be ready for occupancy in the fall of 2025 if approved in a fall 2023 referendum.

How will the district accommodate students until the gym is replaced?

The district does not own the building in Clarissa but has an agreement with the private owner to utilize the gym space for the upcoming school year. Costs associated with the use of this space will be covered by insurance, however, the use of the Clarissa gym is a short-term solution as there are significant transportation, utilities and maintenance costs associated with long term use.

Financial

Does the district have an $8M fund balance?

No. The Browerville School District has a general fund budget (not balance) of approximately $8M which is for the daily operations of the district and may only be used for certain expenditures directed by local, state, and federal mandates.

The district’s current general fund balance (the budget minus expenses) is roughly $3M. This $3M balance is considered the districts “savings account” and will fluctuate month to month based on the timing of tax receipts, state aid, payables, and the collection of federal programming. Examples of these revenues may include but are not limited to gifted and talented, compensatory education, operating capital, and transportation.

A strong fund balance provides stability in local district finances in the event of changes made at state or federal levels. This also could alleviate the future need to seek voter approval for extra operational dollars. Of the 329 public school districts in Minnesota, 235 of these districts, or 71%, currently have voter-approved operating levy referendum authority. The Browerville School District is one of the 94 districts, or 29%, that has not asked voters for this additional revenue because of maintaining a fiscally responsible general fund balance.

Are we still paying for the reorganization of Eagle Valley?

In 2017 the Eagle Valley School District dissolved and reorganized between the Browerville and Bertha Hewitt School Districts. The Browerville School district absorbed $630,000 in reorganization debt structured over a 5-year period. The last payment for this debt was February 1, 2023.

Is the replacement of a new gymnasium covered by insurance?

The district is adequately covered and will receive $5M in insurance proceeds for the value of the gym that was demolished. The district, however, will need to rebuild according to today’s standards, guidelines and codes that were not in place when the original gym structure was built in 1948 and the addition in 1975, resulting in higher rebuilding costs.

Why did the district not receive emergency funding?

Emergency funding only applies to damage occurred by “natural causes”. The damage to the district’s gymnasium was determined to have taken place over time and not by a singular event and therefore does not meet the requirements of receiving this type of funding.

Why did the district not receive funding from the 2023 Legislative Session?

Unfortunately, the collapse of the roof occurred after a majority of the 2023 legislative bills moved through both the House and Senate, which did not allow an opportunity for the district to insert proposed language for financial assistance before the session ended on May 22, 2023.

Will the district receive any future funding from the state?

The district is working with lobbyists, local representatives, and the governor’s office to secure funding through the 2024 legislative session:

Bonding Bill: The district requested the full replacement value of the gym for the 2024 bonding bill and applied for this funding on June 16, 2023. While the district requested the full replacement value, the potential statute would require a 50% match from the community. A successful November 7, 2023, election would retroactively meet this requirement.