Troy Molitor
Sartell
A schoolboard is elected to represent the community they serve. At the recent Oct. 23 board meeting, the three newest board members (Emily Larson, Jen Smith and Scott Wenschau) showed prudence and courage in voting no to the board moving forward with a nearly $20-million bonding project to improve the air quality at Riverview Intermediate School.
The proposal was to use a tool known as LTFM Indoor Air Quality Bonds where state law gives a school board the authority to approve the bonding with a majority vote of the board versus taking it before the Sartell-St. Stephen voters in a referendum.
Even a former board member emailed the board urging them to take this project to the voters. The representative from RWBaird, the firm who would structure the bond financing, referred to the board being “trend setters” if they were to move forward. The three newest board members showed real leadership in recognizing the importance of maintaining trust in a time when there has been a great deal of controversy in our district. They recognized this was not the time to be “trend setters.”
There is no question Riverview has an antiquated heating/ventilation/air-conditioning system. The question becomes more about how we can most cost effectively deliver better air quality to facilitate an environment that is conducive to learning. In the end, any proposed solution must have the support of the Sartell-S. Stephen voters.
As a voter, I would be extremely frustrated by the board taking action on a project of this magnitude. It’s time we start making some tough decisions on wants versus needs. Looking back at the high-school bonding project, I question whether we could have scaled back on the project to give us funding toward projects like Riverview. In the end, we must focus on what’s needed to deliver exceptional education to our students versus asking the public to fund everything we would like to have. Having the most lavish high school in central Minnesota doesn’t give our students a better-quality education.