(KNSI) — After voters in the Sartell St. Stephen School District said no to building a new athletic facility for the high school, Superintendent Dr. Michael Rivard strikes a hopeful note as it opens the door for a partnering opportunity.
The high school is among the 10% of schools in the state without an on campus track facility, so the $8.5 million the district was asking for would have been put toward that, plus a turf field, scoreboard and bleachers.
In an interview with KNSI News, Dr. Rivard says the district and the community will pick up their pens and pencils and work together to create a new plan. “I think it’s really important that we we unpack the information that we were given by the voters, that we spend time talking with our community members. So, my initial feeling is of inquisitiveness. I’d like to learn more about why question number two wasn’t approved by the voters, and find out what we need to do to think about what our next steps are for the future for improvements to the Sartell High School’s outdoor facilities.”
There is a track at Riverview Intermediate School that the teams have used in the past and will continue to use.
Rivard added, “I would want to make sure that people recognize that this is part of our 2015 Facilities Master Plan, and we’ll continue to look at that and spend time with our community as we move forward. The future is upon us, and we want to make sure we’re planning well and having as much involvement from our community as possible.”
The other question posed to voters, which they approved, was spending $21.9 million to replace the HVAC system at Riverview Intermediate School. It’s original to the building that was constructed in 1969 and hasn’t been changed since.
Dr. Rivard expressed his gratitude for supporting the project and recognizing the importance of the replacement. The pipes and valves are 56 years old and aren’t able to control temperature, humidity and air circulation. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to find parts.
The next step for that project is related to the bidding process, but he explained it will be a year before the shovels can dig in. “We know that due to challenges with just getting the equipment in place, that construction and changes that would happen to our HVAC updates would happen during the summer of 2026 and then we would complete it in the summer of 2027. We’ll have to do a lot of planning and put those plans that we’ve already been talking about into into place.”
Dr. Rivard acknowledged the bitterly cold temperatures voters had to contend with Tuesday and thanked those who braved them. He also thanked the public for “coming to presentations, engaging in our website, where we had slide shows and videos in areas that people could feel informed in making their decision, and [I] invite people to continue to do that, [and] to be engaged with the Sartell St. Stephen School District.”
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