Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR DISTRICTS CHALLENGES

  • Our district only receives so much funding for building maintenance and improvements each year. Our maintenance staff has done an excellent job of maximizing this budget, but the reality is that many of our buildings' biggest needs are expensive and cannot be addressed without exhausting an entire year’s worth (or more) of this funding. For example, simply replacing our buildings’ roofs at one building would amount to roughly five times our annual maintenance budget.

    This means large-scale repairs and improvements are usually deferred in favor of maintenance that can be completed within budget and across all of our schools.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLAN

  • North Dakota Century Code limits the amount of debt a school can take on. This limit is 5% of the total assessed value of a district property and can be increased by 5% if approved by voters.  The first question of the referendum asks voters to approve an increase to our district’s debt limit from 5% to 10% of the true and full value of property within our boundaries. This will ensure we have the ability to sell bonds for the full cost of the proposed plan.

  • A school bond referendum is a local election where eligible voters decide whether to approve a property tax increase to pay for renovations, new construction, or other capital improvements to school buildings. For the referendum to succeed, it must receive at least 60% of the vote.

    Approval of a bond referendum grants authority for the district to sell bonds that fund the cost of improvements, and pay back those bonds over time using revenue from the property tax increase.

  • The building will not be demolished. Instead, our district will collaborate with city and local leaders to explore alternative uses that could support the community.

  • One school would be ideal for our district, but we simply are not able to raise the funds needed to build such a facility. A new PreK-12 building for 200+ students, with all needed facilities, would require a building around 100,000 square feet. With today’s construction costs, this would cost roughly $60 million. By comparison, the proposed plan to shift to a two-school model with modern classrooms and athletics spaces costs $15.2 million.

  • Yes! There have been hundreds of school referendums in North Dakota’s history. Districts usually hold referendums to fund generational improvements to their schools or provide additional annual funding for things that the normal budget isn’t enough to cover.

  • Our district’s annual budget already struggles to keep up with general maintenance for our schools. In addition, the total cost of making improvements over time would be significantly greater than completing them all at once, since construction costs grow every year. A bond referendum would allow our district to make improvements immediately, so that all current and future students can experience the full benefits.

  • Since the consolidation of the Valley-Edinburg School district, the district has not taken on debt but also has not had the ability to make major improvements to school buildings. Our district has always balanced our budget to fund only what falls within our yearly operating revenue. Our district is only seeking to take on debt for this project because of the one-time size of the investment and the limitations placed on the general fund for making improvements to our school buildings.

  • If the referendum is approved, our district will complete the sale of bonds to finance the project and begin the design and bidding process as required by the North Dakota Century Code.

    During the planning process our district worked closely with the construction management company, ICS. ICS completed the initial assessments of our schools’ infrastructure and educational adequacy and helped facilitate listening sessions to collect feedback from our community. While their prior involvement is not a guarantee that they will be selected as the project’s construction manager, the school board will consider the merits of all bid submissions, including reputation and familiarity with our schools.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS

  • Yes. Our district has held several listening sessions with staff from each school to identify our top facility challenges and receive their input on what our district should prioritize in terms of maintenance and improvements.

  • Yes. As with staff, our district has provided several opportunities for community members to give their input during listening sessions and community meetings. All members of our community are also encouraged to ask questions and provide input via the Connect form.

  • ICS is a planning and construction management firm with expertise in school building projects.  Over the last two years, ICS has helped guide the Valley-Edinburg School District through a long-range planning process that helped the district develop a data-driven plan to address the district’s most challenging facility needs. If the referendum passes, ICS will have the opportunity to apply to be the Construction Manager for the project. A Construction Manager is the owner’s advocate to ensure the project is delivered on time and on budget. ICS is not a contractor and will not be performing any of the construction work.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COST/TAX IMPACT

  • The investment plan will be presented to voters as two ballot questions:

    • Question One: There is no tax impact for Question One. This question strictly asks for permission to increase the district’s debt limit from 5% to 10% of the tax base. Approval of this question is required first to ensure the district can request funding for the full project. 

    • Question Two: The referendum plan asks voters to consider a total investment of $15.175 million (Approximately $15.2 million) to complete the proposed improvements to our district’s buildings

    • For residential homes, monthly tax impacts would be:

      • $28.57/month for a $100,000 home

      • $49.99/month for a $175,000 home

      • $71.41/month for a $250,000 home

    • For agricultural land, monthly per-acre costs would be:

      • $500 acre - $0.16/month

      • $1,287 acre (the average) - $0.41/month

      • $1,500 acre - $0.48/month

  • Your specific tax impact will depend on the value of your property. You can easily calculate your tax impact based on the True and Full Value of your property using the tax calculator found on the Tax Impact page. To utilize the tax impact calculator, please reference your tax statements to find the True and Full Value of your property. 

    If you would like help to calculate your tax impact or have questions, please contact the District Office at 701-657-2163.

  • The Primary Residence Credit (PRC) was established during the 2023 Legislative Session under House Bill 1158. The credit provides all North Dakota homeowners with the option to apply for a state property tax credit through the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner. Homeowners with an approved application may receive up to a $500 credit against their 2025 property tax obligation. To be eligible for the credit, you must own a home (house, mobile home, townhome, duplex, or condo) in North Dakota, and reside in it as your primary residence. There are no age restrictions or income limitations for this credit. Only one Primary Residence Credit is available per household. Learn more here.

  • Our annual budget has separate funds with separate purposes. These funds are supported by a series of mill levies, which are determined by a North Dakota’s school funding formula.

    Each year we levy 70 general fund mills, which equates to roughly $1 million, to fund our staff salaries and benefits, our transportation needs, annual building operating costs, and all student programming costs. 

    Each year we levy 10 building fund mills, which equates to roughly $150,000 each year, to fund capital maintenance projects. We are also able to use these funds to pay for our annual building insurance. 

    Each year we levy 12 miscellaneous fund mills, which equates to roughly $175,000 each year, for facility repairs and improvements; annual inspections and services; annual services, such as gym resurfacing, lawn mowing, snow removal, and others.

  • State law allows our school district to be indebted 5% of its assessed value. For our school district, this is roughly $7.5 million dollars. If both questions are approved, the referendum will allow our district to double this amount to 10%, allowing our school to bond for the full cost of the project.

  • Residents pay taxes into their respective school district. If a school district closes, bordering school districts’ boundaries expand to include the dissolved school district. Residents then pay into whichever district has included their land in their boundaries. For example, when the Saint Thomas School District closed, the Grafton School District absorbed the territory of the Saint Thomas School District. Whereas landowners formerly paid property taxes to Saint Thomas, their tax dollars now go to the Grafton School District.

  • Funding for general operations (like payroll, instructional materials, transportation, instructional materials, and routine maintenance) is separate from the building fund, which helps support larger building improvements like renovations or new construction. This means the referendum will not impact our budget for curriculum and teaching staff. However, without a referendum, our district will remain primarily reliant on our general fund and building fund dollars to maintain our buildings, pay staff and carry out daily operations. 

  • If the referendum passes, the construction management firm will ensure the project is completed within the approved budget and district expectations. By statute, a bond referendum sets the maximum amount of funds that can be used to implement the proposed project. Once a referendum is approved by local voters, the budget is firmly set for construction and cannot be increased or overspent.

  • We are only able to use what we have asked to bond. The scope of the project will need to be adjusted if the cost of the project changes during the design and bidding process.

QUESTIONS ABOUT VOTING

  • There will be two questions on the ballot. The first will ask voters to approve an increase to the district’s debt limit, so that it has permission to sell bonds for the full project amount. The second will ask voters to approve a bond referendum for the project’s cost (approximately $15.2 million). You can see a sample ballot by visiting our Resources page.

  • Election Day is Tuesday, April 29. Voting will be open between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at all three school gymnasiums. Residents can cast their vote at any of the three locations.

  • Yes. To vote via absentee ballot, you will need to fill out an absentee ballot application. Ballots cannot be mailed or given out without this application being returned to the business office at the Crystal Building. 

    • Please contact our Business Manager, April Sommer, by email (April.Sommer@valley-edinburgk12.com) or phone (701-657-2163) to request an absentee ballot application or stop in the Crystal office to vote absentee in person from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. An application can also be downloaded here.

    • After submitting your ballot application, you will receive an absentee ballot. Completed ballots must be returned to the Crystal office. All ballots must be postmarked or returned in person by the day before the election, Monday, April 28.

    • If you choose to vote by mail, please allow plenty of time to receive and return your ballot. The district is not responsible for votes not counted due to postal delays.

    • When voting absentee in person or via mail you will be given or mailed a ballot to cast your vote, a secrecy envelope to keep your vote private, and an envelope to secure your vote in that you sign to verify it's a valid ballot. This signature must match the signature on your absentee ballot application for your vote to count.