Every Student, Every Day

At Cambridge-Isanti Schools we believe every student matters. This is why we do all we can to serve every student, every day. We share in the commitment to provide safe, healthy and supportive schools.

It is important to provide all students with a suitable learning environment and many times students in specialized programs are not afforded space that has been specifically designed for their needs. For many years, Riverside and Moving Forward students have not been provided learning spaces that meet the unique and diverse needs of these students. We believe all students deserve not only a positive learning environment that meets their unique needs, but one they are proud to come to each day. We know that students’ learning environments have an impact on their ability to learn. For these reasons we are pursuing a proposed new facility that will meet the needs of our students in these specialized programs, programs that historically have made due with the leftover spaces we have had.

Our motto is not just words. When we say every student, every day we mean it!

Why is a new facility needed?

A district-wide comprehensive facilities study that occurred two years ago showed learning spaces for Riverside Academy and Moving Forward were overcapacity and did not provide adequate learning spaces for students making it an immediate priority for the district to address. With steady enrollment in the middle and high school students at Riverside, these programs continue to run out of a space that is overcapacity. With the sale of the leased building last spring that Moving Forward used to occupy, this program is now operating out of a temporary space.

With space being an immediate need, the district began exploration of available properties and existing facilities to locate a new space for these programs in the fall of 2017. The options explored to address the space issue included buying an existing property and adding-on/remodeling, buying an existing property and remodeling, and buying land and building a new facility. The exploration process showed an existing facility that would meet the requirements needed for the specialized programs did not exist within the district. Further exploration then led to district-owned property located south of County Road 19 and east of Highway 65.

With the district’s decision to withdraw from the Rum River Special Education Cooperative last spring, a third program has been added to the need to locate space for student programming. Students in these three specialized programs need appropriate learning spaces that are safe, healthy and supportive.

What needs will be met by a new facility?

Students in three of our specialized programs will be provided with appropriate learning spaces that are safe, healthy and supportive.

In addition to classroom space that is overcapacity, Riverside and Moving Forward lack recreational and physical education spaces. The programs presently have access to one outdoor basketball hoop which is located in a parking lot. The proposed new facility would include a full-size basketball court along with outdoor recreation space which would support students’ physical education.

Programs would also have access to a Practical Assessment Exploration Program (PAES lab) which would allow students opportunities with exploration, training and assessment through hands-on experience in a simulated work environment. The Moving Forward program helps students ages 18-21 who have disabilities prepare for transition into home life and job training. The space is designed as an apartment style space that will allow students to gain life skills they need. Presently the program does not have a sufficient space in which students can learn how to cook, clean and practice other basic skills needed to be successfully independent. A new facility would provide a space for students to learn life skills.

Making a Wise Investment

The district’s financial planning considers both short-term needs and long-term goals. Prudent management and monitoring of local property taxes show the district could build a new facility without increasing the amount of property taxes collected by the district next year. Property taxes presently levied by the district are projected to decrease by approximately 2 percent next year even with the first year costs of the new facility included.

The proposed new facility would be funded using a funding system that is currently levying taxpayers for leased space. The construction of a new facility is an investment for the community. Building would provide the community with an asset at the end of the loan rather than the district continuing to lease privately owned buildings. In other words, the annual costs realized by the school district would go back to the community in the form of a facility.

Resources presently being spent on leased space would be reinvested into the proposed new facility. In the last eight years, the district has paid $1,322,500 to Rum River Special Education Cooperative in lease costs.

Planning for Today and Tomorrow

The proposed facility is designed with each student populations’ unique needs at the core of the plan. Both short-term and long-term factors are considered during planning including enrollment trends, finances and community needs. Design concepts include space for a full-size gymnasium, which would open to the community outside of school hours, along with options for expansion should the programs continue to grow in the future.

Key Points

Here are a few main points that are important for you to know.

1. The proposed new facility is being explored because it is what is right for students in providing them with safe, supportive and healthy learning environments.
2. A comprehensive facilities study that occurred two years ago showed learning spaces for Riverside Academy and Moving Forward were overcapacity and inequitable making it a top priority for the district to address.
3. All financial decisions are carefully considered in order to best invest taxpayers’ resources wisely.