St. Cloud School District Plans Referendum for Apollo High Upgrades, Including Safety Enhancements and New Sports Facility

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Area School District voters will soon have another choice to make as administrators say they plan to ask for a referendum to fund proposed upgrades to Apollo High School.

ISD 742 has been discussing improvements there for nearly a decade. In 2015, the community rejected spending $46.5 million to renovate Apollo. In 2016, the voters also gave a thumbs down to authorizing $37.5 million to make improvements. The school board was preparing for another facilities referendum in February 2020 then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, halting plans, so they’re going to try again.

At Wednesday’s work session, the school board put forward two potential ballot questions.

Superintendent Dr. Laurie Putnam explained to KNSI News what they’re looking for. “First and foremost, we need some safety and security upgrades there. So Apollo High School is the only school in this district without a controlled entrance.” She says without that two layer security, once somebody enters the front door, they have full access to the school. Other safety improvements would include building a large storm shelter capable of holding the entire student body and staff. That room would also have a rubber mat and could be used for activities such as dance, wrestling, tennis, pickleball and more.

The first question would also cover the cost of improving and expanding educational programming. “The science labs have not been redone since 1969, and so, there’s some learning that cannot happen because we can’t have the right gas hookups. The infrastructure for electricity is not up to date.”

The referendum would allow them to expand their career and technology education courses and add advanced career pathway classes as they prepare the next generation of workers. This includes growing Apollo’s advanced auto mechanics program by adding training on diesel vehicles. The district could also add an ambulance bay to help in emergencies and act as a catalyst for emergency management response courses along with other career-oriented classes.

St. Cloud Public School District 742

Question Two would build a new multi-use indoor sports facility on campus, Putnam explains. “We have heard from our students, our coaches, and community members that there’s really a need for our students to be able to have some indoor facility space.”

What would it all include? “A full size turf soccer field, which can also provide either practice or contest space for lacrosse, football, softball, baseball. There’ll be some golf simulators because we do have golf teams,” said Putnam. Youth sports organizations would also be able to rent out the space.

The estimated price tag is $65 million for both and would cost the owner of a $250,000 home $39.96 a year over the next 20 years. If only question one is approved, that gets lowered to $50 million, costing an average homeowner $28 a year.

Question one must pass for the sports complex to get approved.

The school district is preparing for an April 8th special election. Check out the proposed plan for yourself by clicking here.

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