Photo by Jenny Kirk Local resident Don Buhl speaks with Kyle Raph, a representative of CO-OP Architecture, at a special facility planning meeting on Wednesday in the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton High School gymnasium.

TYLER — More than 100 people were in attendance on Wednesday evening as CO-OP Architecture representative Kyle Raph showcased what the new Russell-Tyler-Ruthton preK-12 facility would look like if the upcoming building bond referendum passes.

After the presentation, Raph then fielded several questions, as did RTR Superintendent Dave Marlette, task force member Alan Matzner and members of the school board, who were lined up in a panel formation in the RTR High School gymnasium.

Residents in the RTR district are being asked to vote for or against a $35 million building bond in a special election on Feb. 12.

“There have been some questions on how we got to this plan,” Matzner said. “We went through a lot and it came down to some basic things. The age of our existing school buildings, on average, is 73-74 years of age. We have sections that are over 100 years old. I think the newest was built in 1994. The average age in the state of Minnesota is 41 years old.”

Matzner said building additions onto newer buildings makes more sense than building onto old facilities like the ones in Russell, Ruthton and Tyler.

“The task force did not take it lightly what we were asking for,” he said. “This is a big ask for every member of this community to pay. We thought the best fiscal decision is just like the decisions made many years ago, or 50 years ago, that we should build something new. We got great usage out of the facilities we do have and it’s time to reinvest in our future.”

Don Buhl took a similar stance.

“The task force spent a lot of time on this, so we should respect all the work they did to come up with this recommendation,” Buhl said. “There’s a lot of emotion attached to each of these buildings, but we have to get over it for the good of our kids. We need to build new.”

When someone insinuated that the plan was that of the school board, chairman Jeff Hansen made a clarification.

“It’s not our plan,” Hansen said. “We approved it, but it’s the community task force’s plan. The task force was comprised of business people, farmers, young people, old people, and I think out of respect for the time, dedication and the conversations that were very difficult, we realize this was their best recommendation. There was a lot of hours spent by a lot of people evaluating a lot of things.”

Marlette reiterated that the entire facility improvement process has been community driven.

“We started out with community listening sessions,” he said. “We then moved to a community survey and then to a community task force and what came back is that we need to build a preK-12 facility in Tyler.”

Marlette added that the school board has no authority to approve a $35 million bond.

“That is your job,” he said. “If you don’t want it, please vote, ‘No.’ If you want it, please vote, ‘Yes.’ If you don’t know what your vote is, please come to these meetings, come to my office, gather the information you need, get your questions answered and make an informed decision. That’s all we ask.”

Likewise, the board will not be the decision makers regarding the demolition of the any of the school facilities.

“We have to be responsible for the demolition costs, but the decision is up to the task force members that will be put together in each of the three communities,” Marlette said.

When asked if the gymnasiums could be salvaged, Marlette again said it was up to the task force to make that decision within an estimated 18 months to 2-year time period.

“If they tell us to take them down, we’ll take them down,” he said. “If they tell us to leave them, we’ll leave them. It’s all about local control.”

If the bond passes, Marlette said the next step was to have bid documents put together, likely during the summer.

“Some construction could start in the fall of 2019,” Marlette said. “The goal is that we’d be given the keys to the new building sometime in the summer of 2021. Then in fall 2021, we’d have the students in here.”

Raph highlighted the different areas that make up the two-story facility plan, adding that there is 120,000 square feet on the main floor and that the second floor was 39,000 square feet.

“It’s more about the space,” he said in response to a question about the two-story aspect. “You’re saving on the amount of foundation we have.

After sharing that there would be “five full-court gyms,” a women in attendance said it looked like the majority of the building is gymnasiums.

“When are we going to talk about educating the students,” she said.

Marlette said far more square footage is actually designed to education.

“The majority (of other schools) have built part of the school in two stories because it’s more economical,” Marlette said. “There’s less roof.”

Raph said all of the classrooms are slated to be larger than the current classrooms in the district.

“All early childhood and kindergarten rooms would be 1,100 square feet,” he said. “The classrooms for grades 1-5 are 880 square feet. If it’s 900, you have to have a second door.”

After talking with the teachers, Raph said that they expressed the need to more outlets.

“We’d have a lot more in the new building and there will also be wireless access points,” Raph said. “At the high school, you can bring your own devices and access WiFi.”

Raph added that the entire building would have a fire sprinkler as well. Safety and security upgrades were also mentioned.

“In the primary and special ed areas, you can come into the vestibule, but you can’t go any further,” Marlette said. “Those doors are locked. The elementary secretary can buzz them in — there would be a speaker system where they could ask, ‘Who are you? And what do you want?’ They could then enter the elementary, get a badge and then once that’s taken care of, they can access the building. It’s all about security.”

A gentleman in attendance asked what the total cost of the new school would be. Marlette said it would be $52 million.

“The $35 million bond is just like a house mortgage, so for $35 million over the life of 20 years, you’re talking about an extra $17 million.”

A woman asked if some items could be recovered from the old facility and used in the new building. Raph said that basketball hoops, scoreboards, furniture, kitchen equipment and other newer items would be saved. The legacy of RTR would also be preserved via different displays — for Russell, Tyler, Ruthton individually and together as RTR — throughout the new school.

A commons area would have big screen televisions as well as other features.

“If a kid is acting up, a parent could go out of the gym and not miss the game,” Marlette said.

Middle school locker rooms were part of the design, as were three at the high school level.

“We’ll have a boys’, a girls’ and a visitor’s locker room,” Marlette said. “It’s important to have three because the boys might be out practicing football, while the girls have a volleyball game. We’ll always have the visitor’s locker room clean and ready to go. So the boys can finish practice and get back into their own locker room.”

Larger hallways at the elementary and middle school level will allow for much needed space for when paraprofessionals or other specialists pull students out of the classroom to work on certain things.

“The need is less at the high school because you can just send the kids somewhere else,” Raph said.

There would be a single media center, but it would include different sections geared for the various grade levels.

“One side is for younger children, so there will be lower shelves and smaller tables,” Marlette said.

When asked about the current enrollment and future projections, Marlette said that enrollment has been “very steady” at RTR the last five years.

“This fall, preK-12 was 640,” he said. “The new building is designed for 700 students. Our feelings are that with a new facility, our enrollment will increase. By how much is anyone’s guess.”

One individual asked if there was any contingency in case the bids come in over budget and Marlette said there was.

“If the election passes, we do the bids and they come back at $36 million, we’ll sit down and look at other alternatives, like having a composite flooring instead of a sports court that doesn’t scuff up,” Marlette said. “If it comes back under, we start building. My strong recommendation (to the board) is not to levy one single penny over $35 million. It’s a trust factor. That’s what we said we’d sell the bond for in the election.”

Hansen said the board would to find areas to cut to get back under the budget if that were to occur.

“We’d work with the architects to do that,” he said.

Marlette said the next meeting will take place in mid-January and will provide opportunities for district stakeholders to get a firm handle on the tax impact as it specifically relates to each individual or business.

“It’ll be a great night to bring in your tax statement, so you can get into the nitty gritty,” he said. “I’m not a tax expert, but you can also call and say, ‘Dave, I want to sit down and talk about the tax impact or the project. I’ll make time for you. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll get it for you as quick as I can.”