Wisconsin Heights facilities referendum an “investment in our future”

The following informational article was written by the Wisconsin Heights School District for the Star News. The article was fact-checked and meets submission guidelines.   Wisconsin Heights’ $27 million referendum proposal calls for consolidating District operations into one campus by building an elementary addition at the middle/high school site. It would also provide significant facility upgrades to the middle/high school building. The result would be an enhanced learning environment to serve students for years to come. In addition, the new mechanical systems and building control systems will provide indoor air quality standards at CDC recommended levels.  “This capital referendum is an investment in our future,” said Superintendent Jordan Sinz. “It is a  secure investment in the long-term success of the Wisconsin Heights School District.”  The District has been studying its facility needs for the past three years. The community, through the Future Search process, mapped out a course for the District for the next decade. Improvements to facilities, especially at Black Earth and Mazomanie Elementary Schools, were a top priority. Guided by this priority, the District conducted a facility study, which identified significant issues at both buildings that would require approximately $21 million to repair.  Fixing the issues, however, would not update the buildings to meet current educational programming needs, including flexible learning spaces. The facility study found that the cost of building an elementary addition at the middle/high school site was almost the same amount as the renovations, nearly $22 million, with the new addition providing a modern learning environment for students.  “The proposed elementary addition will have ample educational, cafeteria, and gym space for current and projected enrollment,” Sinz explained. There is a separate, secured entrance and the elementary students will not have shared building space with the middle or high school students.  The addition would also save the District money by reducing operating costs such as utilities and maintenance because of the consolidation from three buildings into one central campus.  In the spring 2020 community survey to determine support for a referendum, the majority of those responding said they would prefer the single campus option to renovations at the existing elementary schools.  If the referendum is approved, the District will work with community leaders to identify new uses for the Mazomanie and Black Earth Elementary School buildings and find buyers.  The facility study also identified needs at the middle and high school building, including roofs that need repair, outdated mechanical systems, and bathrooms that were not accessible under the federal ADA requirements.   During a series of online Community Conversations this summer, the District received feedback about its facility plans, and these were incorporated into the final proposal. A consistent concern was about increased traffic at the site. Therefore, a traffic study was conducted that found that the main entrance was safe and that traffic flow improvements were within the District’s control. Performance Services, a design and construction company working with the District, is designing specific routes to improve traffic flow at the site. Those costs are accounted for in the referendum total.  Like many Districts in the state, Wisconsin Heights has been struggling with revenue limits that the State sets. These limits, or caps, dictate how much money the District can raise in revenue through local property taxes and state aid. Student enrollment is a key factor in determining the limits, and an enrollment study commissioned by the District predicts a pattern of slow growth for the foreseeable future.  Because of these challenges, Wisconsin Heights has had a deficit operational budget for the past 13 years, which has been offset by a series of operating referendums that allow a District to raise money through property taxes over its annual revenue limit. The last operating referendum was approved in April 2019 and runs through the 2023-24 school year.  The November 3 referendum proposal is a capital referendum, which allows the District to take on debt to pay for major capital improvements or construction. Wisconsin Heights has not had a capital referendum in 26 years. By contrast, almost all the adjacent school districts have passed a capital referendum to improve their facilities within the past five years.  If the November 3 referendum is approved, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay an estimated $186 more in property taxes per year, or about 50 cents a day.  However, the District recently received information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction that is important to consider.   The DPI released general school aid information for Wisconsin Schools on October 15th. Based on this information, the WHSD mill rate is projected to be $10.02. The mill rate is the tax amount per $1,000 of fair market value. The visual below shows the recent mill rate history in WHSD.     As you can see, without the referendum, our 20-21 mill rate is over $2.00 below where it was in 201516. The average annual mill rate impact of the November 3, 2020 referendum is $1.86. This increase, on average, will still keep our mill rate below where it was in 2016-17. Meaning an approved referendum would allow for:  • a new $22 million elementary school   • $5 million of updates to existing high school/middle school building  We would be able to provide these updates with an average mill rate similar to the 2016-17 rate. Furthermore, the District is projecting $600,000 in annual operating savings if we transition to a single campus.  Because Wisconsin Heights is surrounded by many other excellent school Districts that have invested in their facilities, it is critical that the District is also able to offer upgraded facilities and a modern learning environment to serve current and future students and retain a high-quality staff, Sinz said.  “We want the next two generations of Wisconsin Heights Students to enjoy the same high-class learning environment and opportunities as our neighboring communities,” he said, adding, “A strong and attractive school District is good for the entire community, not just parents and students.”