The vote on the school referendum plan is just days away. What will this vote mean to our community? How will it impact our students? Why is it needed?
Overall, the Aug. 14 school bond referendum seeks to equip our community with collaborative learning environments and sought-out activity spaces that engage and elevate our students and our community. It focuses on right-sizing our school facilities and equipping us with spaces we need to meet educational needs today and into the future.
Here’s a look at five of the key impacts of the vote on Aug. 14:
1. New Auditorium
Benson Schools had to close the auditorium in May 2017 after the ceiling collapsed on the 1928 building. In the past year, there have been over 100 requests for uses for an auditorium. A new 600-seat auditorium would provide enhanced experiences for our students and the community with dedicated performing arts space for concerts, theater and dance performances. It would significantly improve accessibility to make it easy and more inviting for all to attend. The auditorium would be available for community use and be a place that brings our community together and draws others to Benson.
2. Added Security
School safety remains in the national headlines and a top priority for Benson Public Schools. This plan creates new secured entrances at both the elementary and high school buildings to give our students and families added peace of mind. The offices for Community Education, activities, school resource officer and the high school also will move next to the new main entrance for convenient access by parents and community members.
3. Combined Preschool-5th Grade Building
This plan meets the community’s request to move 5th grade students to the elementary school in a dedicated building that will serve our community’s earliest learners through 5th graders.
4. New Early Learning Center
In the past four years, Benson Schools has grown to serve 87 percent of local 4-year-olds and engages children from birth to equip them in the critical early years and prepare them for success in school. The new early learning center would be added on to Northside Elementary to more efficiently meet the needs of the community’s earliest learners in a safe and dedicated space that provides a smooth transition to kindergarten.
5. Collaborative Learning Environments
Benson Public Schools offers the most college level classes and career enrichment activities in the area. Seeking to continue to equip our students for their futures, this plan includes collaborative learning spaces for grades 7-12. In these spaces, students will experience more hands-on activities where they can work together to problem solve, seek new information and become the critical thinkers the modern-day workforce needs.
A special thanks to each of the 45 members of the Community Task Force who volunteered hours to evaluate our district’s learning and facility needs, discover what’s working in other schools and develop a plan to meet the community’s vision.
\Click to learn more about the process, the plan and the impact. Vote on Aug. 14.