COPE Meetings About HS Referendum in Owatonna

COPE stands for Concerned Owatonnans for Public Education and they are holding meetings about the referendum for a new High School in Owatonna, in advance of the May 14th special election vote.

There was a meeting held at the Owatonna Public Library in the Gainey Room on Tuesday, April 2nd. They presented their reasons to vote no on the referendum, as well as providing a PowerPoint presentation on their Facebook page. You can access that here.

A brief look at some of the points that were made:

• The high school building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was removed in 2000 after alterations and updates
• The school district does not have a specific plan for a new school design
• Student population at the high school has remained stagnant at under 1500 students
• This bond will raise property taxes approximately 15%

I took those statements directly from the PowerPoint presentation that is available for everyone to see on Facebook. They are planning on another meeting on April 11, at 5 pm, in the Gainey Room of the Owatonna Public Library.

There is still time to take a tour of the current high school, Saturday, April 13th and 27th, and May 11th. Absentee ballots are also now available for this election.

Source: COPE Facebook page.