Voters bring mostly good news for school construction.

Byline: Brian Johnson

School construction projects fared well Tuesday night as voters in districts across the state approved more than $1.3 billion worth of funding for everything from new buildings to security upgrades.

The biggest winner was the White Bear Lake School District, which got 57.4% voter approval for a record $326 million referendum that will pay for a 375,000-square-foot high school addition, a new elementary school in Hugo and other projects.

Responding to needs such as deferred maintenance and overcrowding, voters also approved hefty construction programs in Rochester ($171 million), Elk River ($113 million), Moorhead ($110 million), Owatonna ($104 million) and other districts.

Greg Abbott, spokesman for the Minnesota School Boards Association, said 29 of 36 school districts approved at least one bond question for capital projects.

For the calendar year, at least one question prevailed in 45 of 63 districts for a 71.4% passage rate. That's the highest rate since 2013 (88%) and the third-highest since the association began tracking such results in 2000, Abbott said.

"I just think the results showed that Minnesotans value their public schools. They understand that these investments are going to make a difference in the lives of their students," Abbott said.

"There were several hundred million-plus bonds that passed: Elk River, Moorhead, Owatonna, Rochester, and White Bear Lake at $326 million, the biggest we have ever had. That didn't just squeak by. That had good approval numbers. I just think we are lucky to be in a state where people really value their schools."

But not all schools are celebrating.

In the Eastern Carver County School District, voters said yes to a school security and technology levy, but they rejected an $111.7 million plan to build a bus garage and an elementary school, and to tackle deferred maintenance.

The district said the failed bond question would have provided more than $60 million to address "aging and deteriorating facilities."

"The district still lacks classroom space for a growing community. In the coming weeks, the school board will look at boundary options and grade reconfigurations in order to accommodate the number of students in the district," according to the district's website.

Referendums for building projects also came up short in districts that include Gibbon-Fairfax-Windom ($49.49 million), Mora ($59.2 million in two...