Woodbridge School District is again asking for state funding for the construction of a new middle school.
This will be the second year Woodbridge School District files a certificate of need for construction of a new middle school to replace the current building, which is nearly 100 years old.
Woodbridge School District Superintendent Kevin Long says the district created a middle school building task force around two years ago, and came to the conclusion a new building is the best option.
“If you were to renovate the building, it would actually cost more based on the study and it would displace students for years into modular (buildings) to make it happen. So the task force recommended to our board to submit a certificate of necessity to have a new building built." he said.
He says this capital improvement project is not feasible without both state and local support.
“Hopefully the state says ‘Yes, there is a need and here’s the money allocated for it.’ Then we would go to the next step in the process which would be a referendum asking our community to go out and vote to capture the money that is needed on the local side." he told DPM.
Long says the new building is estimated to cost around $65 million. The referendum would account for about 23% of that cost, spread over a 20-year bond. The state will cover the rest if it approves a certificate of need.
Long adds their next move will be to wait and see if the state decides to approve the project. He notes that, even if they don’t this year, the school board intends to continue to submit for this funding for the foreseeable future.
