Robbinsdale voters OK $360M schools overhaul amid deficit

Voters in the Robbinsdale Area Schools district narrowly approved a sweeping building referendum worth up to about $360 million, authorizing a major high school and middle school consolidation even as the district confronts a roughly $20-21 million budget deficit linked to an accounting error.^[1]

In Tuesday's election, Question 1 passed with 52.9% support, or 25,092 votes, while Question 2 cleared the threshold with 50.47% support, or 23,098 votes, setting the stage for a unified 9-12 high school campus at Cooper in New Hope, the conversion of Armstrong High into Plymouth Middle, and renovation of Sandburg Middle, each designed to serve about 1,100 students. Question 3, which would have funded a new elementary school on the former Robbinsdale Middle School site, failed with 55.8% "no" votes, or 25,326 ballots, leaving that piece of the district's long-range facilities plan unfunded. Officials say the approved projects are intended to cut leased-space costs and expand job-training and work-experience options for students across the west-metro suburban district.

District leaders have argued for months that their buildings are mismatched to current enrollment and program needs, and that maintaining aging facilities and leased sites is straining the budget. The plan centers on consolidating high school programming into a single, larger 9-12 campus at the current Cooper High School site in New Hope, while repurposing Armstrong High School in Plymouth as a middle school and updating Sandburg Middle School to handle about 1,100 students. They contend that fewer, better-equipped buildings will allow them to phase out rented space and reconfigure programs so they can expand career and technical education, internships, and other work-based learning without adding long-term operating costs.

The financial backdrop has been unusually fraught. This fall, Robbinsdale disclosed it was facing an estimated $20-21 million budget shortfall tied to what officials described as a previously discovered accounting error, raising questions among some residents about whether now was the right time to sign off on hundreds of millions in new borrowing.^[1] District leaders have tried to draw a distinction between the one-time capital bonds voters approved and the separate operating budget where the deficit resides, arguing that state rules prevent them from using building bond dollars to plug day-to-day budget holes, but acknowledging that both issues will shape the district's finances and programming in the years ahead.

1. FOX 9