COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING

Guided by the community’s input and recommendations and the Board’s direction, these Bond Referendum priorities do more than just provide highly effective learning spaces and fiscal sustainability, they actively support the deep sense of pride and belonging that every student deserves and our community expects. 

QUESTION 1 PLANS
QUESTION 2 PLANS
QUESTION 3 PLANS

Building One District, Better Opportunities

If passed, this question moves the district from two high schools to a single unified high school campus and reorganizes elementary and middle schools into more equitable neighborhood schools. It also redistributes district administrative and specialized programs across existing buildings to maximize space.

  • One High School: The district would consolidate its high schools. Cooper High School and New Hope Learning Center site would be heavily renovated and expanded to become a single high school serving 3,000 students.

    Armstrong High School Site Repurposed: Armstrong would no longer be a traditional high school. Instead, it would get a new main entrance and be remodeled to house several combined programs:

    • Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (K-5)

    • Highview Alternative Learning Center (ALC)

    • Adult academic and community education

    • The district’s IT and maintenance departments

  • Plymouth and Sandburg Middle Schools: Both schools will be renovated to serve 1,100 students each. Remodeling will focus on creating flexible spaces for innovation, performing arts, small-group learning, and Special Education.

    Pools:

    • The pool at Sandburg Middle School will be filled in and turned into space for physical education and Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE).

    • The pool at Plymouth Middle School will be expanded to 8 lanes and deepened to make the diving well safe.

    • Expanding Neighborhood Schools: Four elementary schools (Zachary Lane, Meadow Lake, Northport, and Forest) will be expanded into 4-section schools (meaning four classrooms per grade level). They will also get upgrades to arts, innovation, and Special Education spaces. 

    • FAIR School Crystal: This middle school building will be completely converted into a 4-section, PreK-5th grade neighborhood elementary school.

    • SEA/Olson Elementary: Will be expanded and updated with a specific focus on accommodating PreK and Special Education classrooms. 

    • Lakeview Elementary: Will stop being a traditional elementary school and instead become the new home for the Education Service Center and the Robbinsdale Transition program (for Special Education students ages 18-21).

    • Early Childhood Moving: The current early learning center will move to an empty/surplus elementary school. Its current site will be turned into athletic fields for the expanded high school.

    • In addition to embedding some of district programming that leases space at Crystal Learning Center, the district would construct a storage garage on existing district property to replace the leased warehouse.

    • As the projects in Question 1 are being completed, the district would sell off all unused, surplus real estate. 

Creating Specialized Spaces, Better Opportunities

Question 2 is contingent on Question 1 passing. If approved, it builds directly on the improvements in Question 1 by creating specialized spaces at our middle schools, including a new performing arts space. 

  • Armstrong Site Becomes a Middle School: Instead of being used for the Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (as proposed in Question 1), the Armstrong building would be remodeled to house an 1,100-student middle school. It would still house the Highview Alternative Learning Center, IT, and maintenance departments. 

    Plymouth Middle School is Repurposed: Plymouth would stop being a middle school entirely. Instead, it would be renovated to house:

    • The Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion (K-5) school.

    • The Robbinsdale Transition program (for Special Education students ages 18-21).

    • New elementary-appropriate playgrounds would be added to the site.

    • Sandburg Middle School Pool: In Question 1, the filled-in Sandburg pool would be a flexible space. Under Question 2, that same pool space would instead be converted into a 400-seat Theater in the Round performing arts space, similar in size to the FAIR School Crystal auditorium.

Aligning Facilities for the Future, Better Opportunities

Question 3 is contingent on Questions 1 and 2 passing. If this question is approved, the district would build a new elementary school at the Robbinsdale Middle School site. Additionally, the district would determine the best location for district-wide services and programming.

Remagine Rdale: Vision 2030

In January 2025, the district launched Reimagine Rdale: Vision 2030. Vision 2030 provided a roadmap for aligning facilities, programs, and resources with today's enrollment, educational priorities, and the district's long-term vision for student success. The Vision 2030 Team presented their findings and recommendations to the Board of Education in September, 2025, leading the Board to direct the administration to operationalize the vision. This referendum is the direct next step in the community-driven, board-directed plan.