NEW LONDON - Voters in the New London-Spicer School District will go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve a $21.6 million bond for a building project.
The proposal includes a performing arts center and gym at the high school/middle school, additional classrooms and multi-use cafeteria at the elementary school and security and parking lot improvements.
Even if the bond is approved in the Nov. 3 referendum, school property taxes will decrease a small amount because an existing bond will be paid off early by using $800,000 from the new 20-year bond.
Voting will take place at one location - the NLS High School gym.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Absentee voting is still available at the NLS District Office from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Monday.
Last year voters defeated a $14.6 million bond.
After a survey gave the school board a better idea of what voters liked and didn’t like about the first proposal, the current plan was drafted.
The proposal includes a 650-seat performing arts auditorium, estimated at $9.6 million, and a two-court gym, estimated at $5.6 million at the high school/middle school.
The school currently leases space at a small theater in downtown New London for theatrical performances and leases space at a defunct Bible camp that’s for sale near Spicer for its gymnastics program.
The new facilities would allow the district to house both programs on-campus.
Besides the 47,915-square-foot addition the project also includes security improvements to entrances at the middle school and high school, estimated at $1.2 million, and improvements to the middle school parking lot, estimated at $593,000.
A 7,775-square foot addition to the Prairie Woods Elementary Schools, estimated at $3.6 million, includes two new classrooms and a multi-use cafeteria.
The proposed addition would alleviate overcrowding at the elementary school, where some programs are held in hallways. It would also provide noon-time gym space for kids when it’s too cold to go outside. Currently the lunch room is in the gym.
The additional operating costs to the district for the entire $21.6 million project is estimated at $54,600 a year, according to Superintendent Paul Carlson.
