District will buy the Minnesota School of Business facility for about $4.2 million
by Nate Gotlieb
Contributing Writer
The Elk River Area School Board voted Monday to purchase the Minnesota School of Business building in the city, despite the objections of two board members.
Board chair Holly Thompson and board member Jane Bunting voted against the project, which will cost between $5.6 and $7.3 million, voicing concerns about the district spending millions on an administrative building potentially at the expense of other projects.
They also said they wanted more public comment on the project that will ultimately cost $7.3 million, noting the discussion generated by spending a similar amount of money on the Rogers High School auditorium.
“I don’t see anything about this project tying back to student achievement or the World’s Best Workforce,” Bunting said. “I hear convenience of staff, but I don’t hear necessity.”
In a presentation to the board, Supt. Mark Bezek and Executive Director for Business Services Greg Hein said the new facility will allow for operational and long-term capital savings. It will also increase staff productivity by housing everyone under one roof, they said.
“I know it’s never popular to spend money on administration, but it takes administration to operate a school district of our size,” Hein said. “We’re just trying to be as efficient as we can in use of taxpayer and state money.”
The move will end a yearslong search to find a single administrative facility. The three existing administrative buildings range from 16 to 45 years old and would need millions in future capital improvements, Hein said.
Bezek said the district will use about 75 percent of the 31,200-square-foot building, which is located off Highway 169 and tucked behind a SuperAmerica gas station on 193rd Avenue.
The district will pay $4.2 million for the building, $1.2 million to renovate it and about $300,000 for other costs, Hein said.
The district will use $1 million of its $3.3 million in capital reserve funds for a down payment on the project. It will need to finance at least a part of it, though Hein said he hopes the district could limit interest by selling or leasing the three existing administrative buildings. Those were appraised at $2.95 million.
Still, Bunting and Thompson were hesitant about the project. They both questioned whether the board should spend money on this building before discussing broader spending goals at its Feb. 29 work session.
They also said they were concerned with the lack of public comment on the project. The discussion came at the end of Monday’s three-hour-long meeting in front of a sparse audience. Most audience members had left after the board discussed the Twin Lakes Elementary School boundary changes earlier in the meeting.
Bunting introduced a motion to postpone the purchase agreement, but only she and Thompson voted in favor of that.
Board members asked Bezek and Hein if the building would be available if the board were to wait. They said they did not know.
Hein said the district will bid the project this summer, begin construction in the fall and move in next winter.
Board Members Tony Walter, Shane Steinbrecher, Sue Farber, Jamie Plantenberg-Selbitschka and Dan Hunt voted in favor of the project.