Tour, forum on bond referendum Tuesday

Residents are invited to tour Alpine School, 151 Andover Road, then attend an in-person forum to ask questions about the upcoming bond referendum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Voters will go to their usual polling locations between 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 to decide on a proposal to issue bonds to finance $82.3 million in projects at all five district schools.

If the referendum is approved, the state would provide $16.9 million, or about 20 percent of the total.

At an online forum Aug. 12, district business administrator Barbara Decker said the owner of the average home in Sparta, which is assessed at $372,229, would pay about $336 more a year if the referendum is approved.

The increase would begin in fall 2026, which is the same time as the last payment on a 30-year bond referendum approved in 1996 for the middle school, said the district’s financial adviser Sherry Tracey.

The last payment on another 30-year bond used to finance the high school is scheduled in 2036, Tracey added.

The proposed projects include:

• A 46,625-square-foot addition at Alpine School, with 10 classrooms for kindergarten, 10 classrooms for second grade, a high school-sized gym, and classrooms dedicated to special programs, such as art, music, Spanish and computer science. A new and expanded bus lane and more faculty parking would be added.

• Renovations of three of Sparta High School’s original science classrooms and creation of a biomedical lab to support the Biomedical Science STEM Academy.

• Upgrades to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), electrical and other systems and roofing and window replacements at all schools.

Decker said the district would need to do HVAC upgrades and other projects even if the referendum is not approved. “That would mean updates would take much longer.”

If the referendum is approved, work on the projects could begin next summer and be completed in about two years.

The addition to Alpine would mean that students no longer would use trailers for classrooms, said Principal Katie Madsen. The trailers would remain and be used for storage and offices.

The proposed bus lane would eliminate traffic backups, which occur now when cars are stopped to allow a bus through, she added.

Superintendent Matthew Beck pointed out that the number of preschool classrooms would remain the same if the referendum is approved. The district would continue to partner with community preschools to provide services for the expanded preschool program, he said.

Allen Barnett of DiCara Rubino Architects said the proposed gym at Alpine is designed so it could be used by community members when the school is closed.

Barnett also said all Sparta schools, other than Alpine, could handle increased enrollment.

Alpine is at capacity now, Beck said.

Madsen noted that Alpine’s multipurpose room is used as a cafeteria, gym and auditorium. During heat waves, students are rotated through classrooms with air conditioners to keep them comfortable, she added.