Welcome

Introduction
This meeting is not designed to be a debate.
Under the current option presented to us by the
Maple River school, we simply have two options,
Yes or No
If you have any questions, please ask!

Maple River Task Force Members

Amboy

Good Thunder

Mapleton

Minnesota Lake

Jay Pederson

Amy Klammer

Joe Samuelson

Adam Knewtson

Owen Dickey

Stacy Karles

Collette Drager

Tara Garbes

Tom Boeck

Sarah Karles

Kris/Pat Duncanson

Darin Schirmer

Jennifer Berkner

George Spear

Dan Sohre

Kris Evanson

Edie Haroldson

Kelsey Bergemann

Kim Walters

Jen Simon

Steve Breiter

Bill Daly

Randy Urban

Bob Decker

John Hollerich
In addition:
3 School Board Members
3 Teacher Representatives
A Business Manager
Activities Director
4 School Administrators
Facilitator South Central Service Cooperative

Maple River Task Force

Looked at multiple options
A. No Changes to current layout
B. Remodel and Limited expansion of Mapleton Building
A.

Cost $31 - 38 Million

C. Full Remodel and Full Expansion of Mapleton Building.

(K-12 in one building)
A.

Cost $39.5 51.6 Million

D. New Building for 6-12

A.

Cost $42.5 - $59.5 Million

E. New Building for K 12

A.

$48-65 Million
A.

Final cost estimate is 47.7 Million

Task Force proposal E

New School to be built in Mapleton (K-12)
The current schools in Mapleton, Amboy, Good
Thunder and Minnesota Lake will no longer be used.
There is money in the referendum to demolish the
three current schools if they are not repurposed.
What happens to the demolition money if someone
purchases the building(s)?
Once the building project is completed, any excess bond proceeds
that exist in the construction account will be transferred to the
debt service fund. This will result in a reduction in future debt
service levies, which results in a reduction in your taxes.

Key Points in the proposal

Positives

The school is in one building

Central location for everyone in the district
Not a band aid approach
More green space for playgrounds
Mapleton could grow with an elementary school in town.
Upgraded technology
Infrastructure (HVAC) will be upgraded.
This is an inevitable scenario
ADA compliance
Reduced staffing costs
No operating costs for outlying schools
We would be getting away from Hwy 22
Majority of students live near Mapleton
No controversy over where kindergarten students attend

Key Points in the proposal

Challenges

Could lose students due to location.

K-12 staff downsizing is possible
Construction costs will rise if not approved in the first year.
The financial burden is on our farmers
80% of our community members do not have kids in
school. Will they vote for it?
Asking for that much money the first time around is a
challenge. Will people vote for it?
No one likes to see their small community schools close.

What is the true cost to the Maple

River District?

Maple River Tax Sheet 1

Annual Dollars required to service the current

and proposed Maple River Debt.

Annual Dollars paid to the existing building levy.

This from the addition to the Mapleton and Good
Thunder buildings
A

Actual annual principle and interest paid on

the proposed new school building each year

True Cost????
$ 477,427.00
$ 62,435,800.00
$ 62,913,227.00

(Existing building Levy)

(total increase for 20 years. Off of the tax sheet)

These figures are only for the facility only and do not
include an operating referendum.
This is the money that will not be spent by taxpayers
for anything else in the district!
Ex.) Entertainment, Gas, Food, Vehicles, Homes, Home
repairs, etc.

Cost vs Savings
$ 62,435,800.00 - Total new school referendum cost
$ 47,700,000.00 Proposed new school building cost
$ 14,735,800.00 Interest on the new building
$ 736,790.00 Annual Interest
According to the Maple River 2015 fact sheet.
A benefit to our community is:
Saves over $600,000 every year in operational costs, which
can be better used for student programming and activities
What is the breakdown of the over $600,000 of savings?
Increased efficiency of mechanical systems: $300,000
Increased staffing efficiency: $300,000

What is the facility going to cost me?

1. Go to the Maple River website and use the Property Tax
Calculator.
2. Input your house/farm value off of your tax statements.
3. This will tell you how much the new school is going to
cost you.
1.

Dont forget to add in the cost of the operating referendum

on your tax statement.

4. To figure your true cost per acre. Divide this amount by

the tillable acres of the farm.

My Land
Non Homestead (80 acre tract)
Due to the State Hwy 30, County road 14, Danville
Town Hall and Wildlife Habitat there are 38 tillable
acres
Still under mortgage

Danville
Town Hall

My Land
Taxable value off of my 2015 tax statement. - $440,100.00
Tax increase from the online tax calculator - $945.55
Operating referendum - $206.41
$945.55
$206.41
$1,151.96 Total school cost on this farm.

$1,151.96 / 38 = $30.32/Acre

My Land
Other taxes
Blue Earth County
Danville Township
Region 9
Total property taxes

$1,639.24
$ 271.40
$
6.88
$ 1,917.52

1,917.52 / 38 = $50.47/acre
When I add in the school taxes.

Total taxes $80.79 acre!

The Future
Will taxes increase?
2016 taxes
Blue Earth County
.01% (Approved)

Faribault County
3.4% (Approved)

Waseca County
4% (Proposed)

Minnesota Lake

3% (Proposed)

Good Thunder
3.4 % (Proposed)

Mapleton - ?
Amboy - ?

Will school operating costs also raise over the next

20 years?

What will Farmland values do?

Breitbart News reported in January that farmland prices were estimated to
have fallen 3 percent, for their first fall since 1986. But the Chicago Federal
Reserve just upped the decline to 8.9 percent, and Grants Interest Rate
Observer warns that farmland is now in a long-term bear market with
prices vulnerable to another 20-to-25 percent decline.

On an annualized basis farmland prices are declining by 6% to

7%.
The September farm equipment-sales index was unchanged
from August's anemic 14.2. "The 2014 and 2015 downturns in
farm income continue to reduce sales and production of
agriculture equipment dealers and producers across the region.
Bankers remain pessimistic about the short and intermediate
prospects for agriculture equipment dealers and producers on
rural main street,"

 The potential for reduced farm income in

2015 will likely continue to put downward
pressure on farm real estate markets in
southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Many
experts feel another decline of 10-15% in land
values during 2015 is highly likely in many
portions of the region.

What happens if farmland falls to

$3,750.00/acre?
There are 179,501 acres in the Maple River
School District that are listed as type 2A, 2B
land that will pay the lions share of a new
school facility.
Here is the information that was tabulated for
the Maple River Referendum $$$

What happens if the referendum fails?

More than likely we will see the same
proposal up for a vote next March.
Because next fall is an election year we will
not likely see a proposal on the ballot.

What do we need to do?

We need to set up a committee to help get
things done.
Any Volunteers?

Get the word out!

Talk to our friends and neighbors.
Educate them on what the financial burden will do
to Main street and our farming community

Assure people they have the right to vote no.

Dont feel forced to vote yes because we
absolutely need a new school.

Advertise
Put up VOTE NO
Yard signs
Billboards
Banners

Send out VOTE NO Literature.

Local Papers

How do we pay for these things?

Do everything we can to:

Save our Communities
Save Our Farms

Remember, no matter how this all turns out.

We are

A taxing jurisdictions taxable net tax capacity is the total net tax capacity of all
properties within the jurisdiction, excluding property located in a tax increment
financing district.