Voters reject school bond referendum in Mapleton

Bond referendums need 60 percent to pass in North Dakota.

Update: Mapleton Public Schools posted on Facebook that the referendum failed with 52 percent of voters saying not.

Bond referendums need 60 percent to pass in North Dakota.

School leaders say the money was needed to fund an expansion that would have included a new middle school.

They say the student population has nearly doubled since the school opened in 2017, from 104 students to 202.

If the referendum had passed, taxes would have increased $126 per year for a home worth $100,000.

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Original Story: MAPLETON, N.D. (KVRR) – A community comes together in an effort to add a middle school to their district.

“We have our bond referendum vote today for a $5.3 million vote,” Mapleton Public Schools Superintendent Jenna Farkas said.

It needs 60 percent to pass.

A survey was sent out in the fall of 2020 and one hundred and seventy nine were sent back.

“We had a lot of parties that were interested in expanding to include a middle school model moving forward into our growth,” Farkas said.

If the referendum passes, taxes would increase $126.08 per year for a home worth $100,000.

The school opened in 2017 with 104 students, the school’s population has almost doubled, now siting at 202.

“The reality of our school is that our elementary space is out of space as well and so we’re accommodating that growth as well,” Farkas said.

There will be additions to the elementary school and a middle school will be built.

“Expansions that would be included would go out the backside of our current building and it would include additional elementary classrooms, out our current third grade door, and it would also expand middle school spaces inside our current common’s space we’re currently standing in currently, and it would include a few updated spaces throughout our school as well just to accommodate the increased classes that we would need for middle school,” sFarkas said.

The faculty and staff take great pride in educating the young kids in the community and they want to continue to see their school systems grow and keep their kids in their schools.

“One of the things Mapleton prides ourselves on is having small class sizes and being able to push that forward into middle school would be something that would be very beneficial for our students,” Farkas said.

If the vote passes, the district would like to start construction as soon as the snow clears.