Editor’s Note: This is a two-part series of the grassroots organizations associated with the upcoming bond.

With the upcoming election to approve the bond for the new high school on May 14, some members of the community have come together creating the Vote Yes committee. The committee has hosted three informational conferences where Superintendent Mr. Jeff Elstad and the committee have stated why Owatonna needs a new high school and answered the community’s questions.

The Vote Yes committee has started its Ten-for-Ten Grassroots campaign to get voters to the poll. This campaign starts with one person naming ten yes voters, and then those ten finding ten more. They are hoping to have 10,000 yes votes the day of the vote, and they will be emailing yes voters, reminding them to vote on May, 14. If someone wants to join their campaign, they can scan a sheet of vote yes voters’ names, phone numbers or emails, and send it to [email protected].  Matt Kottke, one of the leaders of the Vote Yes committee, said, “As a 1977 graduate, I can still recall how meaningful it was for me to cast my first vote over 40 years ago, and I can’t encourage you enough to take advantage of the right that many of you now have to help shape the future of our school and our community.”

Some of the main points the Vote Yes committee make to support their side includes a long term solution if the money is not spent repairing this building over the next years(34 million this year), the price goes from 138 million to 147 million next year due to increased construction costs. Additionally, the possibility to lose over 22 million dollars from local businesses, would not help the OHS – which is in violation of many guidelines including Title IX. Kottke said, “The current OHS School Building has served our students, educators, and our community for nearly 100 years and we’ve gotten everything out of it that we possibly could, maybe more; however, the time has come when it doesn’t make economical sense to continue to pour more money in its upkeep if we truly aren’t making it any better.”

The committee is very active on social media on all platforms. They are routinely posting updates and more updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They also have a fundraising campaign through their Go Fund Me Page and are selling “Vote Yes” t-shirts. The shirts are available while supplies last at Courts Sports for $5 each.

The committee will meet next on April 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Small Group Forum at OHS. This will be an informational meeting open to the public. For more information visit their web page.