Vote Yes!

Vote Yes!

To The Editor:

The kids are here. The new school construction proposed in the upcoming West Fargo Schools bond issue vote is urgently needed for the education of kids already born and in the community. Children under five years old now represent the largest segment of West Fargo’s population and are double the number just 10 years ago according to a May 5 Forum article by Kristen Daum.
West Fargo School officials have engaged the public for over four years with school construction ideas. Plans have been changed and debated with the public. As the enrollment has grown, the needs and the plans have followed.

Further delay in meeting the needs for school space would continue to add significant cost to property owners in the district. According to West Fargo School District officials, inflation in construction costs has added over $7 million in cost to the building plan just in the past two years.

Commercial construction is in a temporary lull, so contractors may be aggressive in bidding school district projects if we start building now.

Further delays in selling bonds to fund construction leave District taxpayers at significant risk of higher interest cost on bonds. We have historically low interest rates now which means rates could increase significantly to revert back to an historical average. Just a 1% increase in interest rate from today’s low rates would add over $5 million in total interest cost to this bond issue. Let’s lock in our interest rates and build the schools that our community needs. Further delay is risky and costly. Please vote yes for West Fargo Schools on May 24.

Mark Brodshaug
Horace area farmer