Golden Apple: Cass Lake-Bena Proposes Referendum for New Elementary School

The Cass Lake-Bena School District has proposed a referendum for the construction of a new elementary school to house grades K-5, which will hopefully benefit students.

The project is estimated to cost roughly $39,750,000, which would cover both the new building and remodeling of the current elementary school.

That upfront cost may seem significant, but it would only amount to a roughly $19 monthly tax increase for the average homeowner. As mentioned, the new elementary school would be for students from kindergarten to fifth grade, which is a probably the biggest change, as previously fifth graders would attend Cass Lake-Bena Middle School.

“We’ve known for years that’s really not a good fit for those fifth graders,” explained Cass Lake-Bena School District Superintendent Sue Chase. “It just developmentally isn’t appropriate.”

Part of the proposed referendum is decommissioning the school district’s Area Learning Center Building and remodeling the current elementary school to become the district’s new ALC building.

As it stands, the ALC Building is currently not ADA compliant, and the cost to repair it would be an estimated $15 million. While it’s hard to put a price on education, offering students a new building could prove beneficial in the long run.

The school district will be holding an open house meeting at the current ALC building on October 18th, where any questions about the project or potential tax impacts can be addressed. More information can also be found on the Cass Lake-Bena Schools website.

The vote on the referendum will take place during this year’s general election on November 8th.