ADAMS — There’s a lot of decisions to be made this November, and Southland Schools District is asking voters to say yes to a bond referendum.

In a lengthy discussion during the Southland School Board meeting on Monday night, district officials approved two questions that will appear before taxpayers at the polls on Nov. 6.

“We encourage people to get informed on what we’re asking of them,” Superintendent Jeff Sampson explained. “We want them to get accurate information before making a decision.”

The first question pertains to a $15.8 million renovation that would help accommodate Southland Elementary School students once the school closes, and help transition them into the middle school and high school building, according to Sampson, and address security upgrades and HVAC systems.

Contingent on whether the first question receives enough votes, the second question on the ballot would pertain to a $2.4 million new additional gymnasium to provide more space for physical education that would accommodate more students coming in from the elementary school.

With the existing gym and the auditorium gym, there would be very tight spacing for educational programming and could alleviate possible spacing issues down the road with increased student populations at the campus.

The bond referendum was created because of the district’s decision to close Southland Elementary School caused by declining student enrollment and also lack of funding from the state. The date of the elementary school’s closing is tentatively set for the end of 2019, but is not finalized pending the results of the bond referendum.

If the bond referendum fails on Nov. 6, then the Southland School Board would still need to close Southland Elementary School and make due with renovating the media center into additional classrooms for the incoming students to fit into the Adams campus.

“We still intend to make the best learning environment possible for the students coming in from the elementary and into the middle and high school facility,” Sampson said. “If the bond doesn’t pass, we’re still gonna combine into one building. So, the board needs to make a decision with what the learning environment would look like and what we can afford to make it look like.”

After sending out community surveys to gauge where members of the Southland Schools District stood on the direction they felt the district should go, Sampson felt that officials have a better understanding in how to proceed.

With several community meetings and tours planned for the upcoming months toward November, he feels more prepared, but what the people vote for at the polls is highly unpredictable.

“Based on the survey results, that gave us a better idea of what the tax tolerance is in the district, and that should lead us in confidence,” Sampson said. “They still have to go in and vote in that way. They could say one thing, but they’d still need to go to the ballot box.”