School board member urges voters to back $50 million bond to fix aging South St. Paul schools

A school board member for the South St. Paul Public School Dist said the district will ask the community to approve a $50 million bond to tackle more than $150 million in identified facility needs, arguing the timing would limit the tax impact on local property owners.

"We have about $30 million of bonds coming off right now," the school board member said, adding that asking for $50 million now would mean "it's only going to be 20 million in new taxes." The speaker framed the proposal as an opportunity to do more work while avoiding an extra tax burden later.

District officials, the speaker said, created a committee and a task force to inventory and prioritize building needs. "Over $150 million worth of projects that need to be addressed," the school board member said, noting the district's six buildings are old: "the average age of our six buildings, I looked it up, it's like 73 years old."

Acknowledging that residents may be concerned about cost, the speaker emphasized rising construction expenses and the ongoing nature of maintenance. "The maintenance needs that we're looking at tackling are never going to decrease," the school board member said. The speaker warned that waiting could lead to "some kind of catastrophic event that forces our hand," which would limit the district's ability to set priorities.

The speaker described the bond as the practical way for the district to address urgent safety and learning-environment repairs now rather than defer them: "If the community supports this $50 bond opportunity, there is so much that we can do that will make a huge impact." No formal motion, vote, referendum date, or scheduling detail appeared in the transcript.

The statement concluded with an appeal to residents: "We have to ask the community to support us." The transcript did not record any formal board action or a recorded vote on the proposal.