Robbinsdale Area Schools

School Board Takes Next Step Toward Potential Building Bond Referendum

School Board Takes Next Step Toward Potential Building Bond Referendum
June 15 Board Update

As Robbinsdale Area Schools (Rdale) continues its Reimagine Rdale: Vision 2030 planning process, the School Board met June 15, 2026 (watch the meeting | see the agenda) to provide direction on the next phase of long-range facilities planning and a potential building bond referendum.

The discussion marked a significant milestone in a process that has spanned nearly two years and included extensive community engagement, demographic and facilities studies, residential surveys, long-range financial planning, and the district's work to stabilize finances through the Statutory Operating Debt (SOD) process.

The Board voted to advance the next required step in the process by authorizing the preparation and submission of a Review and Comment application to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). This state-required process must be completed before any school district can place a building bond referendum on the ballot.

The Board established a framework for potential ballot questions at this meeting, with final review and approval expected later this summer.

How We Got Here

The June 15 discussion was the culmination of work that began long before the district entered SOD.

Over the past two years, the district has:

This work has been guided by a central question: How can Rdale align its buildings, programs, and resources to better serve students while creating a sustainable future for the district?

Potential Referendum Questions

Based on direction provided by the School Board over the past several months, district leaders presented three potential referendum questions for inclusion in the Review and Comment process.

Question 1

As presented during the June 15 meeting, Question 1 would total approximately $343 million and carry an estimated tax impact of about $15 per month for the owner of a median-value home in the district, estimated at $340,200. The proposal includes approximately $116 million in Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) investments and would:

  • Renovate and expand the Cooper High School and New Hope Learning Center site into a unified high school campus.
  • Renovate Armstrong High School and relocate Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion, Robbinsdale Academy-Highview and Robbinsdale Virtual Academy (RVA), Community Education, and the Adult Academic Program to the site.
  • Complete renovations at Sandburg Middle School and Plymouth Middle School.
  • Complete elementary school projects at Forest, Northport, Meadow Lake, FAIR School Crystal, SEA Olson, and Zachary Lane elementary schools, which would serve as the district’s six elementary school sites.
  • Relocate Educational Service Center (ESC) operations and the Robbinsdale Transition Center (RTC) to Lakeview.
  • Move Early Learning programming to Neill Elementary.

The proposal is intended to address aging facilities, deferred maintenance needs, and enrollment-related challenges while creating learning environments that better support student programming, educational priorities, and the district's long-term vision for both the student experience and sustainable operations.

Question 2

Question 2 would be contingent on the approval of Question 1 and would add approximately $17 million to the referendum package, increasing the total investment to approximately $360 million. The additional investment would increase the estimated tax impact by approximately $2 per month for the owner of a median-value home.

If approved, Question 2 would alter the facility configuration of Question 1, and include:

  • Relocate Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (RSI) to the Plymouth Middle School campus and co-locate it with the Robbinsdale Transition Center (RTC).
  • Convert Armstrong High School into a middle school that would also house Highview.
  • Relocate Community Education, the Educational Service Center (ESC), and the Adult Academic Program to Lakeview.

Question 3

Question 3 would be contingent on the approval of Question 1 and would ask voters to consider an additional approximately $53 million investment to construct a new elementary school on the former Robbinsdale Middle School site. The additional investment would increase the estimated tax impact by approximately $8 per month for the owner of a median-value home.

If approved, Question 3 would alter the facility configuration of Question 1, and include:

  • Construct a new elementary school on the former Robbinsdale Middle School site.
  • Close Lakeview Elementary.
  • Relocate the Educational Service Center (ESC), Community Education, and the Adult Academic Program to FAIR School Crystal.

District leaders emphasized that these questions represent the framework for potential scenarios and may be subject to further review and refinement. Planning assumptions, project timelines, facility configurations, and proposed building changes remain subject to change. 

What Happens if No Bond Is Approved?

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the district's long-term financial reality.

While the district has taken major steps to stabilize finances through the SOD process, enrollment declines, aging facilities, and rising costs continue to create challenges. District leaders noted that Rdale is expected to face additional budget reductions in the coming years, regardless of whether a referendum is pursued.

Without voter-approved facility investments, future decisions would likely focus primarily on reducing costs and maximizing efficiency through additional building consolidation, space reductions, program adjustments, and other operational changes.

The district's challenges—including declining enrollment, aging facilities, inequitable access to some programming opportunities, and more than $140 million in identified long-term facilities maintenance needs—require continued action.

As Superintendent Dr. Teri Staloch noted during the meeting, the district's current reality requires "complex, coordinated, multi-faceted solutions" and that "doing nothing is not an option."

What Happens Next?

The district will now work with its partners to prepare and submit the Review and Comment application to MDE.

Following state review, the School Board is expected to discuss and finalize potential referendum questions, project scope, and ballot language necessary for the November election.

More Information

District residents should also have recently received the Spring 2026 Rdale Roundup in their home mailboxes. The eight-page mailer is a semi-annual publication that is delivered to all residents across our district to keep the community informed about our schools, students, and our shared investment in public education. The Reimagine Rdale: Vision 2030 stories and updates that appeared in the June 2026 issue include: 

To learn more about how Rdale is balancing immediate financial stabilization with a community-driven vision for the future, or to explore the timeline, FAQs, Board materials, and full archive of updates, visit rdale.org/vision2030.