School construction gets started with the help of passed referendum

The 21-million dollar referendum passed there last spring, with a promise from the federal government to pay most of the interest on those dollars. It is the first time in years that brick and mortar are going in.

Outside the elementary school in Audubon, work is underway to showcase a re-modeled building for the district's littlest learners. Who by the way have been able to watch the historic dig right from their classroom windows.

MARIA AMUNDSON1ST GRADE TEACHER: “A lot of fun, excitement surely a good distraction for us to have.”

And on the outskirts of Lake Park, a freshly combined field will soon make way to a brand new high school. It is hoped it will attract new families to town and bring energy to the district after years of trying to replace a tired, aging infrastructure.

DALE HOGIELPA SUPERINTENDENT: “Community members are thrilled about this and probably the most thrilled are students. The juniors and seniors, even though they will not be in the buildings, they are happy to see this going on.”

It is also hoped that the friction over boundaries and no votes that has sparked bad blood in the district for decades will finally be buried along with the old school buildings. Work on the new high school will begin in early spring.

Tags: your city, kevin wallevand, lake park, k-12 education, audubon, construction, minnesota, referendum, news