Questions & Answers Q&A

For more information, please visit gfschools.org/Page/9571.

Yes, the district would have 20 years to pay the bonds off, but the district could choose to pay them off early. Once the bonds are paid off, the district cannot continue to levy for the building project. 

Valley Middle School & District Kitchen

• Little to no air conditioning.
• Lack of fresh air circulation in much of the building.
• The electrical system is at capacity and cannot support the additional capacity needed for modern learning technology.
• The heating (boiler) system is past its life expectancy.
• Restrooms often need maintenance due to outdated plumbing.
• Several areas such as doorway width, restrooms, and locker rooms throughout the building do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
• The cafeteria, general classrooms, and specialized classrooms such as science, Career and Technical Education (CTE), music, art, and special education are undersized, according to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI). In total, the school is over 48,000 square feet smaller than what is recommended by the DPI.
• Lacks learning spaces to accommodate today’s learning curriculum.
• The location in a residential setting is inefficient for the loading and delivery needs of the District Kitchen.
• Many systems need to be upgraded while other recently updated systems can be relocated to a new facility.
• The current student pick up/drop off location and food truck access create traffic and safety issues.

Safety & Security

• All schools except Discovery Elementary lack controlled access secure entrances.
• Not all school offices are adjacent to the main school doors.
• Electronic key system needs to be updated.
• The intercom system and mass notification communications need to be improved.
• Lack of fire panels.

Build a New Valley Middle School and relocate the District Kitchen.

The new middle school and central district kitchen would be designed to:

• Accommodate middle school structure for grades 6-8.
• Create new adequate classrooms and instruction spaces
• Meet all building and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility codes
• Master planned on school land should long-term growth occur
• Improve traffic congestion and safety for students, families, and neighborhood residents
• Allow for efficient loading and delivery logistics.

Safety and security improvements would include

• Constructing physical secure entrances
• Relocating central offices to achieve a physical secure entrance
• Update push-to-talk door intercom systems
• Improve door access security using assigned electronic keys
• Continue expansion of security cameras
• Improve the building intercom system and identify mass notification options
• Install fire panels
• Ongoing updates to emergency response plans

• In Fall 2022, Grand Forks Public Schools and local consultants conducted a District-wide assessment of all facilities.
• A District-wide survey was completed to gather valuable feedback to assist the District in planning for the future and to consider building solutions that meet the District's needs and are financially responsible.
  • The survey determined that 73% of respondents support building a new $55 million Valley Middle School on the current site and relocating the district central kitchen to the district office (Mark Sanford Education Center) for an additional $6 million.
  • In addition, 77.6% of respondents supported safety and security upgrades throughout the District for $18 million.
• In January and February 2023, a community committee of nearly 60 students, families, Valley staff, District leadership, Valley neighborhood residents, and community members at large took part in three design workshops to help the District with the future planning of Valley Middle School.

The survey utilized a convenience sample that included approximately 1,200 responses. A convenience sample was used so all community members who wanted to participate in the survey were able to. This is different from a scientific sample, which is when selected participants are determined in advance to participate in a survey, as they statistically represent the larger population. Because a convenience sample was used, it is inappropriate to conduct statistical analysis or attempt to calculate a margin of error. Of the 1,200 responses, there was very close alignment with district enrollment distribution.

No, students and staff would remain in the existing building while the new Valley Middle School is constructed. The new school would be built west of the current building. When the new building is complete, the current school would be demolished, and athletic fields and green space would be added.

Valley Middle School enrollment is stable. A new facility would allow for small immediate growth and help plan for long-term growth.

• $61 million to demolish Valley Middle School and build a new middle school for $55 million and build a District Kitchen at the district office location (Mark Sanford Education Center) for $6 million
• $18 million to address safety and security concerns by adding controlled access secure entrances at all schools that do not currently have them.

The estimated tax impact on a residential value of $100,000 would be $96.93 annually. You can find more information and a tax calculator on our website at gfschools.org/tax. 

Please see the example tax statement for help finding the true and full value and/or taxable value on your tax statement.

The tax impact would be effective January 1, 2024. You would receive your first tax statement reflecting the change in the Fall of 2024.

School referendum bonds are typically financed for 20 years. The amount listed would be the tax impact in the first year. We cannot guarantee that the tax base will increase, but if the District continues to grow, it will cause the fixed tax burden of the referendum to be spread between more property owners, which would lower the tax impact for individuals.

Modernizing electrical and mechanical systems is expensive without improving the school’s ability to deliver education. Old age and numerous additions have created vast accessibility and code compliance issues that are not remedied inexpensively. The cost to renovate the building is 75% of the cost to build new.

It would take approximately 14-16 months; however, the timeline would be determined once the project is approved.

The new Valley Middle School would be located on the same property just to the west of the current building.

No trees would be removed. The new middle school would be built on the existing athletic (football/soccer/baseball) fields east of University Park.

• District-wide energy savings projects
• District-wide emergency communication systems
• Retiring debt on previous projects
• Facilities maintenance costs

The district kitchen makes fresh bulk batches of food to send to each of our schools daily. Most of the school kitchens do not have the space to hold a large inventory of food, so the district kitchen stores products for each school until they are needed for meals.