Why the district says it needs the referendum
The district’s stated reasons, attributed to it, alongside its enrollment and budget records.
The district says enrollment growth in Otsego and Rogers has filled its southern schools and that the alternative to new buildings is a districtwide boundary change. Its own October counts show the growth is in the south, while central and northern enrollment is slightly down.
What reasons does the district give?
Growth in the south, crowded buildings, and special education programs that must be brought into compliance.
- The district calls itself “the second-fastest-growing school district in Minnesota,” with enrollment up “over 12%” in a decade while “over 56%” of Minnesota districts shrank.ISD 728
- It projects that without new space, southern schools would reach 94% of capacity at the elementary level, 116% in middle schools, and 133% at Rogers High School by 2030-31.ISD 728ISD 728
- It says its Setting IV special education programs must be brought into compliance, and that the education center would consolidate them.ISD 728ISD 728
- It says 2019 voters asked it to end a cycle of frequent referendums, that the 2019 bond was meant to last 7 to 10 years, and that this plan runs “through 2036.”ISD 728ISD 728
- It describes a “step-down” strategy in which new bonds are “timed to fill the slots of older, retiring debt,” and says a recent refinancing “shaved $3.3 million” off existing obligations.ISD 728
The Department of Education's review notes that the district projects about $8 million a year in added operating costs for the two new schools and “believes that existing revenues and new revenues resulting from increased enrollment will be sufficient” to pay them.Minnesota Department of Education
How has enrollment changed?
K-12 enrollment rose by 972 students from 2021-22 to 2026-27. The southern region gained 1,326 while the central region lost 93 and the northern region lost 120.
| Region | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern (Otsego, Rogers) | 5,796 | 6,093 | 6,302 | 6,638 | 6,908 | 7,122 |
| Central (Elk River, including Nowthen’s ISD 728 area) | 5,165 | 5,185 | 5,191 | 5,135 | 5,119 | 5,072 |
| Northern (Zimmerman) | 2,366 | 2,323 | 2,307 | 2,324 | 2,286 | 2,246 |
| District total, K-12 | 13,629 | 13,839 | 14,019 | 14,238 | 14,469 | 14,601 |
October 1 K-12 counts, unofficial for 2026-27. Regional counts include only students in schools that feed the traditional high schools. COMPASS, FOCUS, Journey, and Ivan Sand are not included, so the regions do not add to the district total.ISD 728
| Building | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers High School | 1,697 | 1,768 | 1,808 | 1,935 | 1,966 | 2,008 | 1,887 |
| Rogers Middle School | 744 | 979 | 1,033 | 1,084 | 1,172 | 1,215 | 1,158 |
| Prairie View Middle School | 548 | 815 | 857 | 958 | 1,017 | 1,080 | Not stated |
| Elk River High School | 1,686 | 1,679 | 1,648 | 1,608 | 1,603 | 1,560 | Not stated |
October 1 enrollment by building, with the capacity the district published where it gave one. Elk River High School, where Nowthen's ISD 728 students are assigned, is shown for comparison.ISD 728ISD 728ISD 728
The district's October 5 presentation says “all Rogers buildings are at/over capacity” and that “Central & Northern enrollment continues to decrease.”ISD 728
What does the district say happens if it fails?
A districtwide boundary change, a repurposed elementary school, and some work paid for with a lease levy that needs no vote.
- Southern students would be moved into Elk River schools and central students into Zimmerman schools. The district says this would affect “approximately 2,000 students and families over a five-year period.” No map has been drawn.ISD 728
- It says the boundary change would last about five years before high schools run short of space again.ISD 728
- Meadowvale Elementary would be repurposed for Setting IV special education.ISD 728
- The secure entrances, and possibly the Hassan addition, could be paid for with a lease levy the school board can adopt without a vote, which the district calls “more expensive.” The district already levies $799,686 a year under its lease levy authority for taxes payable 2026.ISD 728ISD 728
- Career and technical education improvements would be delayed or dropped. The flyer calls this “Loss of Competitive Advantage.”ISD 728
The district has not published a list of budget cuts tied to the question, which is a capital question rather than an operating one. It says crowding would raise class sizes.ISD 728
What do the district’s budget records show?
General fund reserves fell by almost half from FY2024 to FY2026. Most of the drop is in a balance designated for buildings, which reached zero.
| General fund | FY2024 actual | FY2025 actual | FY2026 revised | FY2027 budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $219.0M | $227.7M | $231.2M | $234.9M |
| Expenditures | $204.1M | $236.5M | $260.2M | $237.9M |
| Ending fund balance | $80.6M | $71.7M | $42.6M | $39.5M |
| Fund balance as a share of expenditures | 39.5% | 30.3% | 16.4% | 16.6% |
| Of which designated for buildings | $45.0M | $27.4M | $0 | $0 |
General fund revenue, spending, and ending balance by fiscal year (July to June), from the district's FY2027 budget book.ISD 728
The FY2027 budget, adopted unanimously on May 26, 2026, includes “Board approved budget adjustments of $4.9 million.” The unassigned balance is projected at $32.0 million on June 30, 2027.ISD 728ISD 728 School Board
Long-term debt outstanding was $280,715,000 on June 30, 2025. In 2019, voters approved a $113 million bond for Prairie View Middle School and other projects, 62.7% to 37.3%, and an operating levy, 56.5% to 43.5%, according to the district's unofficial results.ISD 728ISD 728
That 2019 operating levy combined the district's earlier operating levies into one authorization of $1,217.12 per student, a $750 increase, adjusted each year for inflation. The district said at the time that it would expire in 2030. The proposed FY2027 budget counts $24.2 million of referendum revenue. Keeping that money after the authorization expires would take a separate vote, which is not on this ballot.ISD 728, via the Internet ArchiveISD 728
| Taxes payable 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Operating referendum levy (on referendum market value) | $24,171,616 |
| Debt service fund levy | $25,283,346 |
| Long-term facilities maintenance pay-as-you-go levy | $8,425,000 |
| Lease levy | $799,686 |
| Debt service equalization aid | $0 |
Selected parts of the district's levy certified December 8, 2025. The district has no existing capital project levy, so the 5.579% levy would be new.ISD 728
Who has supported or opposed it?
The school board voted 6 to 1 to prepare the referendum and 5 to 1 to call it. No organized campaign on either side was found in the records reviewed.
On May 26, 2026, Anderson, Weis, Nordos, Steinbrecher, Hamlin, and Madsen voted to prepare a November referendum, and Freiberg voted against. On July 13, 2026, Anderson, Madsen, Steinbrecher, Weis, and Hamlin voted to adopt the resolution calling the election, Freiberg voted against, and Nordos was absent. The minutes do not record reasons for either vote.ISD 728 School BoardISD 728 School Board
In the district's spring survey, support for a new Otsego high school was 78% among staff, 70% among parents, and 44% among residents who were neither. Weighted to match the community, support for the two funding options tested was 47.5% and 36.1%. The survey firm wrote that “There is not majority weighted support for funding either option.” The final package, at $419 a year on a $400,000 home, falls between the two options tested, which were $471 and $395.School Perceptions for ISD 728
Among residents who were neither parents nor staff, “Managing funds appropriately” was the lowest of four ratings of the district. Nowthen residents were 2% of survey respondents.School Perceptions for ISD 728
About the survey
School Perceptions ran the survey for the district. It drew 4,859 responses and closed April 27, 2026. Option 1 was a $230 million high school plus $155 million of other work and the $9 million levy. Option 2 was a $170 million high school plus the same other work and levy. The weighted figures count parents as 30% and residents who are neither parents nor staff as 70%, based on 2024 census data.School Perceptions for ISD 728
What we don’t know yet
These questions are not answered by the records published so far. Each would be settled by a specific document.
- How the bond portion changes after the first year. The district and Ehlers have published only the taxes payable 2027 estimate. The full debt plan, with the bond schedule, interest rate, issuance timing, equalization assumption, and projected tax rates by year with and without the question, has not been published.
- How the combined rate splits between bonds and the levy. Ehlers applies one combined rate. The split used on this site’s calculator is the ballot levy rate and the remainder, which is a calculation and not a published figure.
- Farm examples. The district’s financing page says the advisor’s report covers farmsteads, but the published table and calculator have no agricultural rows. The pay 2027 first-tier limit for agricultural homesteads was also not confirmed.
- The general fund drawdown. The general fund balance designated for buildings fell from $45.0 million in FY2024 to zero by the end of FY2026. The budget books do not say what that money paid for, including whether it covered the Otsego land purchases the district describes.
- Two district figures without worksheets. The district says a refinancing “shaved $3.3 million” off existing debt and that school taxes have been 0.50% of an average home’s value for “three years running.” No calculation for either has been published.
- The utility costs in the levy. MDE’s review says the levy would pay about $4 million a year of districtwide utility costs, a use the Legislature allowed starting this year. A breakdown of that $4 million has not been published.
- The lease levy alternative. The district says a board-approved lease levy for the safety, Hassan, and Setting IV work would be more expensive than bonds. It has not published an estimate of that cost.
- The education center’s use. MDE’s table calls the education center an administrative offices and specialized programs building. District pages describe it as a Setting IV and alternative learning center. Whether district offices would move there is not stated.
- Peer district comparisons. Per-pupil revenue, debt, and fund balance for neighboring districts from the Minnesota Department of Education were not retrieved.
- Campaign committees. No vote-yes or vote-no committee was found in the records reviewed, and no ballot-question committee reports were found posted on the district website. That is a gap in what could be found, not a finding that none exists.