Exciting news! The Ramsey Board of Education is considering a bond referendum December 11th, and will use the time between now and then to refine the details and explain them to residents.
A citizen-led Referendum Committee guided us to this point after months of study. That comprehensive review of all district facilities resulted in a sobering conclusion: Ramsey School District is highly successful, but our deteriorating and/or out-of-date facilities are impacting student learning. The school-by-school exploration showed:
- High school locker rooms (circa 1938), windows (circa 1965), and roof sections (about 20 years old) are inefficient, from both the standpoints of student use, safety and energy use.
- Science rooms at the middle school have space, flexibility and equipment shortfalls that make it difficult for teachers to meet current national standards as well as our district’s own high standards.
- Lauded and growing extracurricular activities like athletics and the music program can’t adequately serve all the interested students because of space constraints.
- Successful pilot installations of security measures at the high school and Smith should be expanded to other schools, and the quickest way to do that would be through a bond referendum.
While we need to make basic building repairs, the proposal also considers how we can improve the way we educate the children of Ramsey. The Referendum Committee kept that in mind — aiming to protect the community’s investment in its infrastructure and its student body. Both of those goals are tied to stable property values that benefit our entire community, parents and non-parents alike.
We look forward to continued citizen input on this Bond Referendum proposal. The Board of Education plans to further discuss the projects in the months leading up to December 11th. We still have a long way to go, including an architect’s detailed guidance, state Department of Education approval, and well-researched financial estimates including tax impact and state aid.
To help residents stay informed, Ramsey School District launched dedicated web pages full of information, which will be updated as the referendum proposal evolves and we draw closer to election day. Please visit the District’s website for more information; look for “Bond Referendum” in the upper right corner.
Thank you for the many ways you support Ramsey schools and students.
By Dr. Matthew J. Murphy, Ed. D.
Ramsey Superintendent of Schools
