Sweet Home sets Dec. 16 vote on two-part $90.5 million capital plan

The Sweet Home Central School District will ask voters to decide on a two-part capital project on Dec. 16, 2025, the district announced at its study session. Proposition A, a $55,200,000 package described by district staff as tax neutral, must be approved before Proposition B — a $35,300,000 proposal that would add a tax increase — can take effect.

District officials said Proposition A covers building additions and end-of-life maintenance identified in the district's most recent building condition survey (BCS). "Proposition A for 55,200,000 is a tax neutral proposition," a district presenter told the board, and it includes additions at Maplemere, Glendale and Heritage Heights; BCS end-of-life items such as roofs and HVAC; playground and parking upgrades at several sites; elementary library upgrades; a planned relocation of the Ready Academy to the district office and the district office to Dexter Terrace; and electrical upgrades at the transportation center.

Proposition B, if approved by voters, would add items described by the district as enhancements and athletic upgrades. The presenter said Proposition B includes elementary renovations to halls, gyms and classrooms; gym upgrades where needed; turf replacement for baseball and softball fields; a new high-school track; new lighting at athletic fields and tennis courts; a ticket booth and new back-of-field walkways. "Proposition A must pass for Proposition B to move forward. We cannot do Proposition B even if the taxpayers approve it unless they approve Proposition A," the presenter said.

District leaders told the board that Proposition A was structured to be tax neutral because debt currently falling off the district’s debt service schedule offsets the new borrowing. The presenter said the district is also proposing to use about $3,000,000 from a capital reserve fund to reduce the local share of Proposition A. When asked for the district's total projected debt-service cost after the project, the presenter said the exact annual debt-service number was not available at the meeting and that staff would provide it at a future meeting.

Board members pressed for details on specific cost items. The presenter described the electrical service upgrade to support electric buses and fleet needs as being roughly $1.2 million and said the turf and track replacement combined were roughly $3 million, though the presenter cautioned those were approximate figures tied to the project scope and bids.

Officials said the timing was