How did we get here?
On Monday, March 7th, Dassel-Cokato Schools began the process of re-initiating the referendum work put on pause two years ago.
In 2020, the district hosted a series of community groups in which a package of bond projects was presented to the school board. Unfortunately, the pandemic stopped that progress from moving forward, yet many of the needs have not gone away. CTE is still a primary focus, but as two years have passed, we want to make sure we are addressing and assessing all potential facility needs.
As a professional courtesy, we wanted to take time to appreciate the efforts dedicated by the original community group members. The past two years have shifted the abilities and capabilities of education, so while we wanted to validate their work, we also wanted them to be the first to hear that the district is going to be seeking additional insight and feedback from community stakeholders to identify any potential additional needs.
The official launch of this planning process will be initiated on March 22nd with the first of two community engagement meetings. Prior to this meeting, SitelogIQ will be hosting a staff engagement discussion to explore future ready learning spaces, school finance and staff roles during engagement and referendum events.
Community and Staff Meeting Summaries and Group Work Results
POSTED April 22, 2022
Dassel-Cokato Schools will be hosting an Open House on the evening of Thursday, April 28th where people can move between stations, view current spaces and the plan options, ask questions and provide feedback. The evening stations will include facility infrastructure needs (ex. boiler), CTE (metals, woods, ag., FACS, MS industrial tech), HS Science, collaborative spaces, HS entry, HS Media Center, and elementary needs.
POSTED April 29, 2022
The Community Open House, hosted on April 28th, was very successful with more than 80 community members attending throughout the evening. Stations were set up to allow people to move at their own pace, view project plan options, view current spaces, leave feedback and ask questions of both staff and SitelogIQ team members.
In the coming week, both project plan options and the feedback collected will be posted below. The board has a workshop meeting this coming Monday to begin reviewing plans and options. Areas being considered include infrastructure needs (ex. replacing the boiler), Career and Technical Education, HS Science, a secure high school entrance, collaborative spaces like the HS media center/commons, and some physical/functional needs within the elementary schools.
POSTED May 3, 2022
Below are potential project plans created to meet the unique needs of our buildings and students. Mixed in are comments left by community members during the Open House event hosted on April 28th.
These project plans, as well as additional infrastructure needs, were presented to the school board for consideration on May 2nd. The school board is working to determine the final scope of the bond for the August 9th referendum. Details will be forthcoming as they develop. Please continue to check the website as information will be added continuously.
POSTED May 10, 2022
On Monday, May 9th, the school board voted to authorize Superintendent Raymond to submit the proposed project plans to MDE for "review and comment" . The amount of the bond is not to exceed $17,900,000 and will address infrastructure and facility needs to include CTE, high school science, further securing the high school entrance, MS Industrial Tech and FACS, new boiler, replacing windows, replacing some of the existing air handlers, and supporting pilot projects in the elementary schools.