The Brandon-Evansville School District is doing what it can to educate people about its upcoming referendum vote for funding a school expansion.

On Monday, Sept. 21, an open house took place at the Evansville gym before the regular school board meeting, and about three weeks ago, a website with information about the referendum was launched.

The website — www.2campuses1vision.org/ — covers such topics as the district's needs, the plan, voting information and the cost, including a tax calculator users can access to find their estimated tax impact.

"It's a comprehensive site dedicated specifically to the referendum," said Superintendent Don Peschel.

The plan for the Evansville school includes the addition of more classrooms, a parent drop-off area and new parking lots. In Brandon, the plan includes a new gym, career and technical shop and community fitness room additions, as well as new parking lots and a storage shed.

The school board approved a resolution to issue general obligation school building bonds and called for the special election at its July meeting.

According to the resolution, the amount of money would not exceed $14.5 million and would go toward "the betterment of school sites and facilities."

A previous $25.2 million referendum failed in November 2019.

Indoor air quality project

At the school board's regular meeting Monday, Sept. 20, they also heard an update on the indoor air quality project and HVAC for the Brandon School, a project that entails installing new boilers, heating/cooling, ceilings, lighting and some other exterior improvements.

Jeff Flettre of ICS Consulting said the project is on schedule to be completed by the middle of October, saying the heating should be running by the first of the month.

"I know it's pushing it a little bit," he said. "It might get a little chilly for a couple of days, but for the most part it should be OK."

Flettre said the chillier side of the project should be completed by the middle of the month, and all that will be left after that is some minor cosmetic issues, and testing and balancing.

Peschel confirmed the progress, saying, "It's getting close. We're not far from being done with it."

COVID update

Peschel also gave the school board an update on the district's COVID numbers, saying there currently are two students who have tested positive.

"Our attendance list has been nothing concerning, compared to other years," he said. "Some days the highest we had was 27 kids (marked absent)."

Peschel said the district is watching the numbers daily and the custodians "have been really vigilant on trying to keep the buildings clean."

Brandon-Evansville students are not required to wear masks during school.