$24M in projects being worked into Burrell school budget

The public can get its first look at how Burrell School District’s multimillion-dollar school realignment could affect their taxes next school year at a meeting Tuesday.

“If you want to know where your tax money is going, and what they pay for, show up to the meeting,” board President Rick Kaczor said.

“If you want all the meat and potatoes, that’s on April 1.”

Business Manager Jennifer Callahan declined to discuss the proposal until it’s presented to the school board at the meeting.

As the school board weighs the budget in the upcoming months, it’s grappling with up to $24 million in capital improvement projects at district buildings, some of that associated with the closing of Stewart Elementary and relocating those students to Bon Air Elementary and Huston Middle School.

A cafeteria addition, air conditioning and boiler repairs at Bon Air are estimated to cost $10 million, district officials say. The cafeteria addition is necessary to accommodate fourth grade classes when they join the school next year, because of Stewart’s closing. Bon Air does not have air conditioning, and its boilers, and heating and ventilation systems, are from 1997.

Burrell voted to close Stewart, citing enrollment declines, costly infrastructure upgrades and the opportunity to focus student resources in three district buildings instead of four.

By closing Stewart, the district anticipates saving about $200,000 in operating and maintenance costs. An architect estimated it would have cost Burrell $17 million to renovate Stewart, which was built in 1931.

If the district wanted to add fifth grade classes to Bon Air for the 2026-27 school year, an additional classroom wing would need to be built. That would increase the cost of Bon Air projects to an estimated $14 million.

In addition, the board is considering an estimated $10 million heating and cooling project at the high school. The high school’s boilers are from the year the building was built — 1964 — and the school does not have air conditioning.

As Kaczor sees it, the only option the board has, when it comes to building projects, is whether to add the classroom wing to Bon Air.

“These projects we’re doing, they have to be done,” he said. “They can’t wait any longer.”

Burrell raised taxes 5.8% last year, citing stagnant property value growth in the district and rising costs in special education services, cyber school tuition and employee medical insurance.

Properties assessed at the district’s median assessed value of $23,000 currently pay an annual tax bill of $2,703 before any exclusions or discounts are applied. One mill is worth $151,531 in revenue for the district.

The district’s 2025-26 budget must be approved by July 1.