The $28.9 million referendum passed, and district officials are jumping head-first into a plan for a new school and the expansion of another.

District officials will begin meeting with architects within several weeks to draw up plans for a new fifth- and sixth-grade school. A Woodson Kindergarten Center expansion will get immediate attention, according to Superintendent David Krenz, as the expansion will take place over summer 2012 so Woodson will be ready for the 2013 school year.

“The biggest thing is a lot of people did a lot of hard work on this,” Krenz said.

Austin residents passed the referendum by 428 votes (2,971 to 2,543) Tuesday.

“It’s fantastic,” said Peggy Young, Vote Yes committee chairwoman. “It took months of work and tons of volunteers to make this happen.”

The referendum came after about two years’ worth of studies, discussion and planning. District officials learned in 2009 that Austin’s student population was growing at a rapid pace in a time when most greater Minnesota school districts were shrinking.

According to a demographics study, Austin schools would have 300 to 400 more students by 2014 and almost 1,000 more students by 2020. District officials say the student population is increasing at a higher rate than what they originally projected.

Though school board candidates and school officials publicly supported the referendum, there were residents who did not want their taxes raised. At issue was the tax increase for property owners, though district officials say the increase won’t be severe. The 1991 $20 million bond referendum to renovate Austin High School will be paid off this year, which school officials say will offset most of the referendum costs.

A $100,000 home’s property tax will increase by about $50 per year (or $1,000 over 20 years) if voters approved a 20-year, $28.9 million capital bond this November. A $150,000 home’s property taxes will go up by about $74.

Space is tight as almost every school in the district is either at or over capacity this year. Austin High School still has room, with about 1,300 students in a building that can fit a little more than 1,500, and Sumner Elementary School’s enrollment dropped to 289 from about 330 students last year.

Woodson Kindergarten Center grew from about 356 students at this time last year to about 392 students this year, with every available space used as a classroom. Banfield and Southgate Elementary Schools are the schools giving district officials the most enrollment headaches, as Southgate’s enrollment is about 537, up from 527 last year, and Banfield is at 586 students this year. Ellis Middle School’s population is straining as well, with about 1,000 students.