A new elementary school in Knoxville currently hangs in the balance as voters will decide on whether to move forward with funding the project on Tuesday’s election ballot.

On this year’s election ballot voters in the Knoxville Community School District will simply choose yes or no on a $12.4 Million general obligation bond which would be the final third of funding for a new elementary school in the Veterans District which would eventually replace the current Northstar Elementary. The other two thirds of funding for the project has already been approved which is $26 Million in sales, service, and use tax revenue refunding bonds, so tax payers are only being asked to fund one-third of the project. 

A task force was assembled in the spring to help decide the future of Northstar Elementary in which 17 of the 18 members decided a new school was the most appropriate option due to the overwhelming amount of deficiencies of the current Northstar building. Many district employees, administrators, and community members have been outspoken about their beliefs that the current Northstar building is not suitable for current 21st century learning. 

In 2024, district officials tasked Boyd Jones Construction with conducting a comprehensive facility assessment to determine the best course of action to address the challenges at Northstar. More than $22.5 million worth of deficiencies were identified as necessary for the school to meet current code requirements, including several that require repair within the next 1-5 years. A Vote Yes Northstar Group has been advocating for the new school and the district has held two public meetings for the community to learn more information about the vote and take tours of the current Northstar building. Despite many positives to this new project that have been presented, community members still have concerns about the project and how it will affect their property taxes and the fact that a middle school bond was passed just a few years ago.

The max property tax impact will be 43 cents for $1,000 of assessed value which would be $38.71 a year for a home that is $200,000. The vote will require 60% plus one person to pass. Absentee voting at the courthouse will end Monday and polls will be open from 7:00 am – 8:00 pm on Tuesday.