By: Dr. Marcus Lewton
DPS Superintendent
When the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881, Dickinson began with the name Pleasant Valley Siding. Soon after, in 1884, with a new name, Dickinson, the town passed its first referendum (38-0) to build a school.
Since then, Dickinson Public Schools (DPS) has had multiple failed bond referendums and passed nine referendums to build new schools and make major additions. The school district has made twenty significant additions and even built a school without using a bond referendum.
Today, we find ourselves in a similar position as those baby-boomer parents from the 50s and 60s who passed four referendums in eighteen years. We have aging buildings and an expanding enrollment. When my wife and I moved back in 2007, the district had just gone through a scare of downsizing and closing a school. On late nights, I remember this and am thankful I am in a growing community, not a shrinking one.
We have received many questions regarding what the district will do if it fails. This is a hard conversation that I don’t take lightly, but we are at the point where something must be done, leaving the district with some difficult decisions.
Here are a few facts we’ve shared about the upcoming bond referendum.
- DPS has $60 million in capital maintenance over the next 10 years.
- Dickinson High School (DHS) makes up $35 million of that $60 million in capital maintenance and system upgrades.
- DPS receives $1.6 million a year to address building maintenance.
- There are 14 girls’ bathroom stalls for roughly 95K square feet of school in the old part of DHS.
- In comparison, there are eleven bathroom stalls for girls at Heart River (5 in classrooms at K-1, plus 6 in hallways). Heart River is 47K square feet.
- A student requiring an elevator will trek more than ¼ mile from a classroom in the north part of the school to the outside yellow building and will arrive at a destination that is not handicap accessible.
- The good news is the handicap-accessible bathroom is downstairs near the elevator.
- Our largest building in the district, DHS, does not have fire sprinklers. Just under 1100 students currently attend DHS.
If the October 24 bond referendum passes:
- The $69 million will be paid over a 20-year term.
- The $69 million will fund a renovation and addition at Dickinson High School and enhance safety and security in the elementary schools.
- It adds a monthly tax of $11.59 per $100,000 of true and full value. (For guided instructions on how to find your value, please visit our website.)
- It will reduce the 35 million needed in upgrades at DHS while adding approximately 20K square feet.
- The district can address the other capital maintenance with the yearly $1.6 million building levy.
If the October 24 bond referendum fails:
- DPS schools must make cuts to cover the difference between capital maintenance (approximately 60 million over ten years) and DPS's revenue from the building fund levy (1.6 million per year).
- Cuts could include transportation, activities, and elective classes.
We invite you to learn more about the October 24 School Bond Referendum.
- Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce Eggs and Issues – Wednesday, October 11 at 7 a.m. – Dickinson High School.
- Please register with the Chamber for this breakfast event sponsored by Cornerstone Bank by October 6.
- Public Meeting – Tuesday, October 17 at 5:30 p.m. – Dickinson High School
Thanks for being informed. Please vote on October 24, 2023!