Sartell Likely to Use 3, Not 12 Polling Places For School Election

SARTELL - The Sartell-St. Stephen school board is expected to approve polling places on Monday night for its upcoming $105.8 million referendum.

The special election will be held on May 24th. The district wants to bond $105.8 million over 25 years. Here's how the money would be used:

• $89.5 million would be spent on a new high school.
• $1.7 million would go to Pine Meadow.
• $650,000 would go to Oak Ridge.
• $2.55 million would go towards the middle school (which would become a 3rd-5th grade intermediate school).
• $10.55 million would go to the existing high school (which would become a middle school).
• $850,000 would go towards borrowing costs.

The proposed resolution designates three combined polling places which will serve the entirety of the district. The polling places are fewer than the 12 that would typically be used during a general election. The district has used combined polling places in past referendums/elections.

"Dollar-wise, it does save a little bit of money if we don't have that many sites, these are all sites we've used before. Folks are accustomed to going to these places to vote," Sartell-St. Stephen superintendent Jeff Schwiebert says.

The three polling places are:

• Le Sauk Township Hall (220 4th Avenue South) This spot will serve precincts 1 and 2 in Benton County, and Precincts 3 and 4 in Sauk Township.
• Celebration Lutheran Church (1500 Pine Cone Road North) This spot will serve precincts 5, 6 and 7 in Stearns County.
• St. Stephen City Hall (2 6th Avenue Southeast) This combined polling place will serve all terriroty in the district in the city of St. Stephen; and St. Wendel, East Brockway and West Brockway Townships; Stearns County.

The polling places aren't at schools since the referendum will be on a school day.

If the referendum passes, a new Sartell High School would go on a piece of land next to Oak Ridge (on the north side). The district has discussed a possible new high school for months in order to alleviate space crunches in the district due to growing enrollment.