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THOMPSON, N.D. (AP) — Voters in the Thompson school district will once again decide the fate of a school expansion and renovation project.
The Aug. 23 vote will be the fourth time residents have voted on the issue since 2012, and the second time this year.
The last vote in May fell just seven short of passing. Proposals in 2012 and 2013 also received majority support, but not the 60 percent majority that's required.
If the vote fails again, the issue can't be placed on the ballot for another year, under state law.
School officials have said enrollment has risen every year since 2008, to nearly 500 students. The proposed $10 million project will include new classrooms and other improvements.
Retired school principal Jim Larson has joined the Thompson "Vote Yes" committee, hoping to keep crowding from conflicting with learning.
Larson said the school improvements would benefit the entire town of Thompson, in northeastern North Dakota.
"The community in small towns is the school," Larson told WDAZ-TV (http://bit.ly/2amt2bv ). "If you've got a school that is thriving, people think of the whole community as that much better of a community."
Superintendent John Maus said the school has made small adjustments since the last vote, knocking down walls and moving classrooms. But he said a long-term solution is needed.
Approval of the renovation would "set ourselves up for success for the next 25 to 30 years and not have to keep coming back to our public every five years for bond referendums," Maus said.
Most homeowners would see an annual increase of $485 dollars a year to pay for the improvements. Agricultural land owners would see an increase of $3.16 per acre per year.
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Information from: WDAZ-TV, http://wdaz.com
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