By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – The school board spent almost an hour Wednesday, Jan. 9, discussing the district’s 10-year facilities improvement plan and how to fund projects the board might want to pursue.
The board agreed with a recommendation from Business Director Keith Lucius to have district staff look at the possible projects and get further cost estimates for the administrative team to rank, order and prioritize to present to board members at their February meeting.
“Once we can get a better idea on some of (the Cormier Elementary School and district office project) costs, then we can talk about surveying (the community), and how quickly we want to survey, and how we need to get that out,” Lucius said.
Buildings and Grounds Director Tom Schmitt presented the board with the 10-year plan, which listed a series of possible referendum projects totaling just under $3.3 million.
“In request to some ideas on projects that might go into a referendum, a potential referendum, Keith and I sat down and we kind of earmarked projects that are in the plan that typically wouldn’t come out of our capital improvement projects,” Schmitt said.
Of the possible referendum projects listed with cost estimates, the most expensive for $1 million would be to add air conditioning at the high school.
The next highest estimate came in at $500,000 to rebuild the high school track.
Two possible referendum projects presented for consideration without specific cost estimates related to security and safety remodeling at Cormier and the possible remodeling of the district office for educational purposes.
Following the construction of a new cafeteria at the high school, one project being proposed in Ashwaubenon is to relocate the district office to the former commons area and possibly remodel or sell the district office building.
The estimate to relocate the district office to the commons area is $300,000, which is also the estimated cost to demolish the former high school kitchen area to repurpose that area to office use for $600,000 total.
In addition to the estimates of replacing three gym floors – which Lucius said are now in a condition where they can no longer be resurfaced in the high school auxiliary gym ($150,000), Pioneer Elementary School ($150,000) and Parkview Middle School ($120,000) – two other possible referendum projects estimated in the six figures at Cormier include installing new controls for heating, ventilation and air conditioning ($150,000) and replacing two boilers ($100,000).
Referendum or not?
The projects included in the 10-year plan generated discussion among board members as to whether to go to a referendum.
For instance, Brian Van De Kreeke, board vice president, said he was against holding a referendum for maintenance.
“I don’t like the idea of even talking about a potential referendum,” Van De Kreeke said. “I’d rather us be looking at how we’re going to do this within the budget that we have. And if that means we have to shuffle some of these projects, and figure out a way to cover it, that would be where I’m coming from right now.”
Lucius responded to Van De Kreeke by saying major remodeling or repair, rather than deferred maintenance, would be among possible referendum items.
“When you have a foundation at Pioneer in the gym that’s got problems, that’s not maintenance, that’s a major remodel or repair, in my mind,” Lucius said. “That’s how we selected the projects to say, ‘If we do a referendum, this is where it is.’”
In the event the district doesn’t hold a referendum, Lucius said the projects being planned would be pushed off into the future, along with the $550,000 to $600,000 allocated annually for facility improvements needing to be increased for several years.
“Whether we do a referendum or not, we need to have that discussion (so district residents will) understand here’s why we do or here’s why we don’t (have a referendum) and make a decision,” he said.
Lucius said the possible referendum projects listed include items that need to be done in the future, rather than options.
“The question in my mind is, ‘Do you have a referendum to get money to pay for it, or do we cut other accounts from our budget to make it fit?’” he said. “That’s really the decision that needs (to be made). There are none of these items that are wants. They’re needs. It’s just a question of how do we fund them, and what do we do in our budget if we don’t go to referendum.”
At the December board meeting, Lucius said a referendum for $5-7 million could be held in the spring of 2020 for a term of five to seven years and not result in the district tax rate increasing as a result of its passage.
For that to happen, Lucius said bonds the district has for existing debt could be paid off this spring with funds already designated for that purpose.