WEST FARGO – High inflation has impacted prices in nearly every aspect of daily life, and West Fargo Schools is feeling the burden of higher prices in construction cost estimates as it considers again putting a bond referendum to voters to finance construction needs.

Economics manager Levi Bachmeier shared a cost comparison of the projects included in September’s failed bond referendum with the school board on Monday, Aug. 19, comparing what the estimated costs were at the time of the referendum to what they would likely cost if a future referendum were passed and prices were significantly higher.

The cost analysis revealed significant price increases for most, but not all, projects. New prices included:

• A new elementary school, estimated to cost about $34.8 million, is expected to cost $41.3 million.
• The Heritage Middle School expansion was originally scheduled to cost $19.6 million, but is now estimated to cost about $22.6 million.
• An expansion of Horace High School, without the addition of a multi-purpose room, is now estimated to cost $36 million instead of $32.4 million.
• Improvements to special schools increased from $1.7 million to $2.7 million.
• The cost of restroom renovations increased from $15.2 million to $17.8 million.
• The $5 million land cost for future buildings remained unchanged, as did the estimated $2.2 million for safety improvements at all schools.

The days of completing construction plans in about 18 months appear to be over, Bachmeier said, meaning new facilities may require longer timelines.

In September, a $147 million bond referendum failed, largely due to low voter turnout. The bond would have funded the construction of a new elementary school, several additions and renovations to existing school buildings, including an expansion of Horace High School and Heritage Middle School, and $5 million to fund an additional ice rink and an addition to the Veterans Memorial Arena.

On Monday, Superintendent Beth Slette said the board now has updated pricing information as well as additional background information on some of the proposed projects, such as building additional multi-purpose rooms and inclusive playgrounds. The district will share that information with the public to get additional feedback before deciding when to hold a referendum on the bonds.

“Tonight you don’t choose the projects, but we wanted to hear what projects you’d like to present to people to get more feedback,” she said. “So we still have a long way to go if we’re going to do the work we promised.”

“We felt that now that we have some updated pricing, we probably need to reach out to our community again and try to get feedback,” Bachmeier said.

The district would also seek feedback from the community on the possibility of asking more than one question on an upcoming ballot proposal. That means the ballot could include three questions that voters must approve, such as asking voters to approve a referendum on projects that need to be done in the next five years and another question asking voters to approve a second part of the referendum involving projects that need to be done in the next 10 years. A third question would be whether the school district should contribute $5 million toward an estimated $20 million project to add a third ice surface to Veterans Memorial Arena. The 2023 referendum included the ice contribution.

The West Fargo Park Board also pledged to contribute $5 million, while the West Fargo Hockey Association contributed about $10 million to the project, which would also add a third sheet of ice to the arena. Although the majority of Park Board members continue to support the project, the board has not made a formal commitment to the project until after the completion of its 2025 annual budget, which does not currently allocate $5 million for ice.

The Park District would own and operate the ice annex of the Veterans Memorial Arena, which is also owned by the Park District.

Bachmeier said West Fargo voters were passionate about the ice rink, and some voters said they supported other projects in the previous referendum but did not support the school district’s contribution to more ice and therefore did not vote for it in the referendum.

“I’ve heard that voters want us to give them a choice,” Slette said. “We’re feeling the impact of inflation through these numbers and they’re feeling the impact on their budgets.”

If the referendum is put to voters on more than one question, the county can ensure that one question cannot be passed without the passage of another. For example, if the first question asks voters to approve a referendum that includes only the county’s most urgently needed projects, and the second question asks whether the county should contribute to ice, voters cannot approve ice without approving the other facilities.

The previous referendum included the addition of multipurpose rooms at West Fargo High School and Horace High School for about $2.9 million, but the cost is now estimated at about $3.2 million. Sheyenne High School is currently the only high school with a multipurpose room. Although the multipurpose rooms were part of the previous bond referendum, some voters questioned whether the additions were really necessary. Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Vincent Williams said the two high schools have lists where a multipurpose addition would be very useful, such as holding assemblies, combined classes, special activities, registration and conferences, to name a few.

“It brings justice to our system,” Williams said.

The Facilities 2.0 Task Force, which consists of nearly 80 community members who have met regularly to discuss the referendum, may meet again soon to discuss the construction cost comparisons and other information, such as the high schools’ compelling reasons for needing multipurpose spaces. Bachmeier offered to host more town hall-style meetings for the community instead of presentations, where community members can “drop in” and ask the board questions or provide feedback on a potential referendum and then continue their evening.

Following the start of the 2024-2025 school year on Thursday, August 21, public meetings for the public to inform and receive feedback on the referendum are expected to be held in September and October.

“I think it’s good to give people a little time in September to get started,” said board member Jon Erickson.