Shakopee voters reject $89M high school plan

Voters in the Shakopee school district have rejected an $89 million proposal to build a new high school.

In December, the School Board set a special election that asked voters to approve a plan that would approve nearly $80 million for a second 1,600-student high school for Shakopee Public Schools. The district estimated the proposal would have cost about $193 in new taxes annually on a $250,000 home.

When 5,200 voters went to the polls Tuesday, the measure failed by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

School district officials told voters that it expects enrollment in grades nine through 12 to grow to 3,100 students by 2022, and that grades 10 through 12 will have more than 1,800 students by 2017, the first year a new building could host classes.

The current high school was built just seven years ago.

Opponents of the measure questioned whether Shakopee needed a new school yet, and whether the student body should be divided into two high schools.