The Minnetonka School District will be making the first building bond request in 29 years on November 4th, 2025, asking for nearly $85 million in property taxes from those who live in the district. But what does this building bond mean? And how does it affect students and parents who live in the Minnetonka School District?
The building bond had its origins in 2024, when in April, the Minnetonka School Board created the Facilities Study Task Force to evaluate current facilities and whether they meet the needs of students. They toured every school and other district facility over a 10-month period, ultimately recommending we further develop the instructional programs across the district.
Based on this, the School Board voted to place an $85 million “Building Bond Referendum” on the November ballot, aiming to fund upgrades across the district. Despite this, the district claims there will be no net tax increase for residents in the Minnetonka district, with Chair Patrick Lee-O’Halloran stating that “the tax rate will not go up. As existing bonds are paid off, new ones would be added on, allowing the tax rate to remain flat.”
Specific improvements listed under the Building Bond Referendum page in the district website state there will be general safety enhancements across all schools in the district, an expansion of multi-use gyms and performance spaces in middle schools, modern science classrooms across the district, and improvements to Minnetonka High School’s counseling center and cafeteria. Beyond these district-wide upgrades, Lee-O’Halloran explains that “the middle schools will get the most improvements” because the “buildings have not had significant updates in more than 20 years.”
While Chair Lee-O’Halloran claims “students and teachers need the middle school and high school updates,” some students counter that they see no real need for improvements in some spaces, such as STEM classrooms. Anirudh Pulavarthi, ‘26, says “there hasn’t necessarily been a shortage of materials that we need to use” and that “for me, I never felt that we needed more funding, specifically for the [STEM] classrooms.”
Ultimately, it will be up to the Minnetonka residents to determine the future of their schools, and whether or not the facility upgrades are something we need. The voting ballot for this referendum will run from 7:00AM–8:00PM on November 4th at Deephaven City Hall, the Minnetonka District Service Center, and churches in the local area.
