The priorities from Windom’s Way Forward visioning process aligns with the Windom Area School Board’s commitment to address significant facility needs. Since the last bond referendum was narrowly defeated, we have taken the time to hear from the community and incorporate feedback into our plans for school facilities.

Key changes based on what residents shared include:

• Decreased seating in the auditorium to reduce the budget

• Moved four fields into a separate question on the ballot to give residents more options

• Provide academic opportunities by re-purposing current lecture hall into robotics space freeing up classroom space for general education

• A larger community-wide vision that connects schools, city, amenities, and overall quality of life

On February 10, 2026, District residents will be asked to vote on two ballot questions to shape the future of Windom Area Schools.

Question 1 Includes:

• A new Fine Arts Center with 650 seats, scene and costume shops, changing/makeup areas, and a connected lobby. The auditorium would also serve as a storm shelter.

• An expanded auxiliary gym to support gymnastics and physical education.

• A new wrestling room addition above the existing weight room, with stairs and an elevator.

• Updated locker rooms to better serve students and teams.

• A repurposed lecture hall into a robotics space for STEM and hands-on learning.

• Eight-lane track replacement and multipurpose artificial turf field for soccer, football, softball, baseball, and PE.

• New pole vault and jump runways, additional parking, and a maintenance building to support campus operations.

Question 2 (which can only pass if Question 1 is approved) includes:

• Fields for football and soccer.

• Baseball and softball fields designed for student and community use.

The table below shows the tax impact for the one bond question on various types and values of properties, calculated over 20 years.

*Ag. Land & Building excludes the house, garage & one acre of land which are included with Residential/Other. Note: Estimates based on & assume no change in values, state equalizing factors or in state law.

• If the Windom Area School District facilities bond referendum passes in February, agricultural landowners will receive a 70% Ag2School tax credit on the portion of their property tax bill tied to the referendum. This credit is automatic and requires no application.

• The Ag2School credit applies to all current and future school construction bonds, reducing the long-term tax burden for agricultural property owners. 

• With Ag2School, the State of Minnesota will cover 39% of the total bond project cost. The  credit is automatically reflected on agricultural property tax statements.

• Non-agricultural landowners will not see an increase in their taxes due to this credit, as the full cost of the credit is paid by the State of Minnesota.

• The Ag2School credit has strong bipartisan support and has been part of Minnesota statute since 2018. The State contribution has grown from 40% in 2018 to 70% today, with an open and standing appropriation—meaning the State automatically provides whatever funding is needed each year.