ISD 166 School Board explores IRRR funding for facility improvements and a November 2025 referendum

Since the passing of Question One on the November 2024 bond referendum, the ISD 166 School Board has moved forward with the design phase of the facility improvement project. In recent meetings, discussions have also resumed about how to find alternative funding for Questions Two and Three, which Cook County voters did not approve. 

• Question One included a $24,175,000 investment to construct a secured entrance addition, physical education addition, new single-court gymnasium, classroom, common area, and special education improvements.
• Question Two requested $9 million for improvements to the school’s grounds, athletics, and art spaces, including an artificial turf for athletics fields, a running track, and updated theater equipment and seating. Question Two failed to pass, with Cook County residents voting No 1,847 – Yes 1,677.
• Question Three requested $3.5 million to add an additional gymnasium to support physical education, athletics, and community recreation. Question Three failed to pass, with Cook County residents voting No 1,993 – Yes 1,504.

“The board immediately had a conversation about the things in Questions Two and Three are high priority and very important for our students,” Superintendent Chris Lindholm said. “And we don’t want to say that it’s dead. We want to keep the conversation going.”

Lindholm said he was tasked to begin exploring other funding options to alleviate the cost on Cook County taxpayers. After contacting Senator Grant Hauschild and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), Lindholm said he was able to verbally secure a $7 million match from the IRRRB contingent on Cook County Schools passing a November 2025 referendum.

With the verbal funding commitment from the IRRRB, Lindholm said Questions Two and Three “would cost our taxpayers basically a third of what it would have cost if it had passed last November.”

While no official decisions have been made, the school board will begin gathering input from staff and students’ families to gauge interest in moving forward. In the coming weeks, Lindholm said a survey will be distributed. Then, depending on the feedback, an additional survey will be released to the larger Cook County community and voters.

As the school board undergoes discussions about how to move forward with resuming public discussions concerning Questions Two and Three, the school has formed a project oversight committee to oversee the implementation of the design and construction process for Question One.

The project oversight committee, which meets monthly, consists of school board members Dan Shirley and Rena Rogers, several school staff members, Superintendent Lindholm, and representatives from ICS, a project management firm, and DSGW, a Minnesota architectural firm.

The design and preparation phase of the project is expected to take approximately one year.

“Then in the spring of 2026, at the end of next year’s school year, that’s when it’ll be go time on the real heavy lift of construction,” Lindholm said. Construction is expected to occur during the spring and summer of 2026 and 2027.

Lindholm said that to capitalize on the short construction season, parents should expect changes to the 2026 and 2027 school schedules, particularly the winter and spring breaks. “Just so we can get out of school before June 1 to make sure that our contractors have the time they need to get the work done,” Lindholm said.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Superintendent Chris Lindholm about the design and construction process for Question One and the ongoing discussions to secure alternative funding for Questions Two and Three, including a potential November 2025 referendum. The audio from the interview is below.

Kalli Hawkins February 13, 2025