FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
A: The bond amount is 13.2 million; this includes the cost of the project and all associated fees. The requested amount cannot increase at this point. The bond term will be 25 years.
A: The project will remove the 1926 two-story building. It will be replaced with a single level classroom space on the two story’s existing footprint. The new space will include 3 new science classrooms, a new Art Room, a new FCS classroom/lab and replacement of the office space lost in the demo of the 1926 building. Ag and English classrooms will be placed in the current science labs; these spaces will be refurbished by the district and not a part of the bond scope. Also lost in the demolition of the 1926 building is the school’s auditorium. A new Performing Arts space will be built to the east of the Band classroom. The Performing Arts space will be able to seat 476 people and will include retractable, cushioned, auditorium seating. The retractable seating will allow the space to be used for other events as well. An expanded commons will be constructed to connect the old commons area to the Performing Arts Space.
A: Based upon the 24-25 valuations, the tax levy impact will be 26 cents. Based upon projections from the recently released tax valuation statements, we expect increased valuations will decrease the levy impact in the range of 22-23 cents. Residential properties will be taxed at 100% of their valuation, Agricultural property will be taxed @ 50% of their valuation.
*Current estimated tax impact on residential property in Furnas County will be a $260 increase per year on a home with a $100,000 valuation.
*Current estimated tax impact on 160 ac Farm/Ranch Ground in Furnas County will be: a) Irrigated = $1,177 b) Dryland = $673.60 c) Grass = $281.60
These figures are compared in the other counties tied to the Cambridge School District.
A: Mail-in ballots will be sent out on July 21st. Ballots will be due on August 12th. If sending by mail, be sure the mail ballots by August 1st to ensure they will be counted.
Construction will begin in late winter/early spring of 2026. The Performing Arts Space will be Phase 1. Once school gets out in May of 2026, demolition of the two-story space will begin. Completion of the project is expected by August of 2027. We will work to use as much space as possible in the remaining parts of the building to hold classes, but off campus classrooms may need to be utilized for instruction for the 2026-27 school year.
A: Yes, through the evaluation the board and administrative team looked at all manors of renovation and new construction. 1) Basic repairs would cost the school 3-5 million 2) Renovation would cost the school 9.3 million and 3) New construction would cost 12.9 million. It was determined through extensive evaluation and feedback that new construction offers the most “bang for our buck”.
A: The actual square footage of the building will decrease from roughly 116,000 sq feet to 113,000 square feet. All areas of the building will then be on a singular floor creating a more ADA compliant environment.
A: Yes, there is a bond website developed to help educate the public about the bond; links to this site will be located on the school website and other district related social media. On this website, there will be a calculator that will allow you to type in your property valuation and it will tell you just how much additional tax this will cost on your property.
Question:
What is the tax difference between this and the most recently paid off bond (the high school gym)?
Answer:
The 1991 Bond had a total price tag of 2.5 million dollars; it was termed over 20 years and had an average interest rate of 7%-9%. The levy rate for the 1991 was roughly 35 cents.
The proposed 2025 Bond has a total price tag of 13.2 million dollars. The term of the bond will be 25 years with an average interest rate of 4.25% to 5%. The levy rate will be 26 cents.
To compare apples to apples, if the proposed 2025 bond used a 20 year term, the levy rate would be 29-30 cents.
Question:
How does the final price compare to the initial cost estimates provided to the community?
Answer:
As was stated from the beginning, the initial price was significantly higher than the final price. The initial bond price was 23.6 million dollars and the final price brought to the community for a vote is 13.2 million. Some of the price deflation was due to choices made by the board; others were due to the engineering and fire marshal recommendations. Some of the major cuts in price from the initial reporting were due to:
1 ) A reconfiguration of the academic space (saved $600,000)
2) Reduction of the “Sitework” budget – Sitework is the reclamation of the buildings exterior once construction is complete; some of the reductions were from a. less concrete replacement b. not installing storm drains c. handling landscaping on our own (saved roughly $2.7 million)
3) Removal of HVAC Upgrades to remaining building – from JH Gym north to HS gym (Saved roughly 1.8 million)
4) Removal of the Re-Roofing of the remaining building (saved roughly 1.5 million)
5) Removal of Fire Sprinkler Upgrades to remaining parts of the building (save roughly 1.1 million)
6) Removal of Renovation of Science Labs to Regular classroom space (save roughly $600,000)
7) Reduction of the size of the Performing Arts space (saved 1.7 million)
8) Removal of the FF&E – FF&E is the furniture inside the newly built areas (saved $250,000).
Question:
In items 3-5 of this answer, what happens to these projects? Is this something that didnt actually need done, or is it coming from school buget, or is it just not going to get done. These items seem like core needs so I would just like clarification please.
Answer:
Good question. Items 3 and 4 are going to be done later using district funds by doing them in small sections. They still “have to be done”, but we can do them over time, rather than right away. Item 5 does not have to be done. After we chose our footprint, the fire marshal toured the facility and we were able to eliminate the fire sprinkler systems in large amounts of the building due to existing “fire walls” being located in the building structure. The new structure will have them, the elementary school has them, but the remainder of the building will not. However, we are having to update our fire alarm system building wide and that is included in the remaining cost figures.
Question:
What exactly is wrong with gas lines in the science rooms?
Answer:
The gas lines in the science rooms have multiple issues;
1) The mechanical unit that controls the flow of the gas no longer works.
2) The ventilation lines, that dispose of the unused gas after each use, were damaged in a weather event several years ago.
Question:
Why were these repairs not made as soon as it was known there was an issue so our districts students could explore more Labs and experiments?
Answer:
Any answer given would be purely speculative, as this occurred multiple Superintendents and several years ago.
Question:
What has been done/spent in the last 12 years for repairs/updates to the 1991 stage?
Answer:
1) “Tried” to update lighting on the stage to LED, but the lights and the switches have not communicated making dimming of the lights impossible. We continue to search for solutions to make this work.
2) Built stairs to the mezzanine storage level
3) Sound system was updated
Question:
In the last 12 years, what has been done/spent to repair/update the auditorium?
Answer:
1) Updated the “House” lighting to LED
2) Painted the walls in the auditorium
3) Removed Torn Curtains on the back of the stage and painted the wall for a new backdrop.
Question:
What RPAC schools can host One-Act Contests?
Answer:
Southern Valley and Southwest have suitable areas to host these contests. However, in recent years the RPAC has gone to hosting the conference meet at the Tassel in Holdrege. Before our lighting update failure, we actually hosted District One Act multiple times.
Question:
If the ventilation lines in the science room were damaged in a weather event, why wasn’t insurance money used to fix or replace them at that time?
Answer:
Any answer given would be purely speculative, as this occurred multiple Superintendents and several years ago.
Question:
Would you please list actual NEEDS vs WANTS.
Answer:
The simple answer is we need all of this! In tearing down the 1926 two-story building, we are looking to replace the space that was lost. We are not adding additional square footage, rather we are actually reducing the total square footage by 3000 sq ft. In removing the 2nd story we are becoming a) ADA compliant b) creating an environment that is much easier for the building to be maintained. We will be replacing the classroom and office space that is lost, we are not adding additional classroom or office spaces that do not already exist; we will improve the art, science and family consumer science classrooms in the new structure. The new performing arts space will replace the existing auditorium. The current auditorium seats roughly 250 people and the stage is insufficient for performances. The feedback received was to increase the size of the space to accommodate all fine arts or community gathering events (i.e. graduation), as well as, the space adequate enough to host performing arts events. The new performing arts space will accommodate 475 people when completed.
Question:
Mr. Albers stated in the first tour of facilities for bond proposal that the burners in the science rooms have not worked since he has been here. Why has the district not fixed them so our students could preform numerous labs and experiments to expand their knowledge in the field of science?
Answer:
The answer to your previous question is located in the Q&A section.
Question:
It looks like we would be losing about 3500 square foot of building space. Make it make sense to me.
Also I have asked that someone reply to my question as to what are actual needs vs wants. Please get back to me
Answer:
The new construction is a single story; while the current structure is two stories. We have worked to be efficient in our use of space and only add back what truly is needed. At the end of the day we are removing old classroom spaces and an auditorium and replacing them with new classroom spaces and an auditorium. The answer to your previous question is located in the Q&A section.
Question:
How much money has been invested in the 1926 building in recent years? New bathrooms, carpet, new windows, other repairs to the auditorium-if any? Where did those funds come from?
Answer:
Our school facility updates, not limited to the 1926 building, over the past decade have been between 1 and 1.5 million dollars. Specifically, to that area of the building we have updated the restrooms, windows and added carpet to the 1st floor of the building; some plumbing was replaced as part of the bathroom upgrade, but much still remains. A rough estimate of the cost of those updates to that area of the building would be roughly $150,000 to $200,000. Funds used to update those areas are a combination of local tax dollars; either saved in the special building fund or borrowed funds that are paid from our current QCPUF account. Additionally, we received money from the Federal government after COVID that was used to update the HVAC system in the elementary building. The HVAC system in the elementary was targeted as a priority before the 1926 building, because it was in worse shape, as students were having to wear coats in the classroom during the winter months due to the system being inadequate for our needs.
Question:
How many ballots will be mailed out?
Is there a minimum of return ballots needed to make the outcome official? For example if only 10 ballots are returned is that tally official?
Answer:
We have roughly 1100 registered voters in the Cambridge School District that will receive ballots. There is no minimum.
Question:
If the bond fails will the district still move forward with plan K.3?
Answer:
The board is prepared to have those conversations after the results of the election become final, but at this time a specific path has not been determined. We are simply focused on the positive!
Question:
At one of the board meetings, the gentleman from Sampson Construction, I believe stated if the bond doesn’t go thru this year that it will increase 3-4% the next year. What was that percentage for sure?
Answer:
Conservative estimates see the inflation on materials and labor to be 5% annually.
Question:
Could you specify what the “critical needs” are and the projected cost of each?
Answer:
The two critical areas that were established when we began this process 23 months ago were HVAC replacement and Roofing. Estimates on the HVAC replacement 23 months ago were 2.1 million. Estimates on the roof replacement earlier this year were 1.8 million; this does not include the elementary, as this was not part of the scope of work for this project. Once we begin upgrading the building we will need to meet ADA standards, this means inclusion of an elevator at a project cost of $500,000. If you add those numbers up and that is 4.5 million dollars; that is 4.5 million dollars spent on a 100 year old facility and that 4.5 million does not address plumbing, wiring, a lack of insulation or anything the needs addressed in the auditorium.
Question:
The school board requested a price to update current ‘91 stage with new lights, sound system, curtains and acoustic sound boards for gym walls and ceiling. Could you tell me what that price tag was? Thank you in advance.
Answer:
Roughly a million dollars. However, understand that once you start adding the lights and acoustic treatments to the gym area, it stops being a gym and becomes a fine arts space.
Question:
When will the tax levy begin? Will it be for tax year 2025?
Answer:
The taxes will be reflected in the 25-26 school year budget and will begin being collected in January 2026.