P-B to vote on proposed elementary addition Nov. 21

Patrons of the Pingree-Buchanan School District are scheduled to go to the polls Monday, November 21, to vote yea or nay to a proposed $4.5 million addition to the elementary school in Buchanan.

The vote will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day at P-B Elementary.

In a press release sent by the district, the PBSD is seeking the community's help to pass a bond referendum that would release funds for the project. The referendum needs a 60 percent supermajority to pass.

An initial meeting for district residents to discuss the referendum, along with the project's scope, tax impacts, and other questions, was held this past Wednesday. A second meeting will be held Wednesday, November 9, in the high school lunchroom in Pingree.

In information from the release, the district says that the need for upgrades to the elementary has been a pressing issue for several years.

The referendum, according to the district, is the first proposed bond issue to come before voters in over 60 years.

If it successfully passes, three new classrooms, a media center, music room, administration offices, student and Title I support spaces, secure entry points and new pick-up and drop-off zones would be added as part of the project.

"These features will allow students and staff to exist in a positive and calming learning environment, and will fix many shared space issues that staff are having to work around," said the letter.

The existing annex of the present Pingree-Buchanan Elementary complex dates from 1908, making it over 114 years old. It currently houses the pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and music rooms.

Because there are two separate buildings, it makes travel between them very challenging whenever there are extreme or uncomfortable weather conditions.

With the new addition, the district says that one of the primary goals of the project would be realized, and that is to ensure that every student and class would be under one roof.

"That would negate the need to travel between buildings, and share classroom space with other subjects or resources," said the letter.

The option to fix the 1908 annex is one for consideration, but the associated costs for bringing it up to modern building code, safety and accessibility standards would end up costing the district the same amount as the new addition would, and without providing students with the newest facilities and amenities.

Zerr Berg of Fargo has been retained by the P-B School District as the project architects.