Northfield board approves construction and budget measures as school project design advances

The Northfield Public School Board on June 9 approved the district’s 2024–25 construction fund budget and the proposed 2025–26 budgets for all funds and heard detailed updates on project design, energy-efficiency analysis and upcoming geothermal testing tied to the district’s bond project.

Board members voted to approve the 2024–25 construction budget, which lists total income sources of $41,080,609 and projected expenditures of $1,750,000, and later approved the district’s proposed 2025–26 budgets after a correction to a beginning fund-balance calculation. Val (finance director) told the board the corrected projected ending fund balance for 2025–26 is 15.08% of the general fund, down from a previously stated 15.92%.

The vote on the construction budget followed a presentation and clarifying question about accounting versus cash flow. “The budget that was presented was actually correct,” Finance Director Val said, noting differences between budgeted expenditures and actual cash payments due to retainage and payment timing.

Why it matters: the board sold $39,000,000 in bonds after a referendum last November and the project is now moving from planning to specification and review, a step that will shape future bids and construction costs. Superintendent Tim Hillman said the financing effort saved taxpayers about $8 million in interest compared with prior projections.

Board members also received an 11th construction update that described several design-stage activities: a traffic study, an internal and first-responder security review, a building-standards review to set specification baselines (for example, pipe-welding and other material/system standards), and an energy-efficiency review with Xcel Energy. Hillman said the Xcel analysis produces cost/benefit comparisons for options such as higher-performance windows and identified potential utility rebates tied to selected design features.

The board was told a contractor will conduct on-site testing for the planned geothermal system’s Darcy wells on June 16. Hillman said the field work should not impact nearby traffic or events and that the city of Northfield contributed $25,000 from its carbon-reduction fund toward the testing.

Board action: motions to approve the 2024–25 construction fund budget and the proposed 2025–26 all-funds budgets were made and passed (motions and votes recorded in the meeting minutes). Specific contract approvals later on the agenda included a one-year extension on a purchase agreement for district property and a one-year contract extension for Benjamin Buss; both were approved by voice vote.

What’s next: staff will continue refining specifications for bidding, complete the Xcel Energy report and share its recommendations, and report back with the geothermal test results. The board will receive further construction updates and financial reporting as the project moves into procurement and contracting.