New Glarus Referendum

The voters of New Glarus will be voting on a no-tax-impact referendum for the school district to deal with maintenance needs, safety/security, and space issues on February 16. The exact language of the referendum question on the February 16 ballot is as follows:
“BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the School District of New Glarus, Dane and Green Counties, Wisconsin, that there shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $5,800,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of roof replacements; HVAC upgrades; remodeling and renovating District buildings for safety and security purposes and additional classroom space; and acquiring furnishings, fixtures and equipment.”
Throughout the past year, the School Board and Administration has been working on a long-term facilities plan. Replacing roofs, updating the HVAC system, improvements to safety/security, and creating additional space rose to the top of the list of priorities.
Roofs and HVAC equipment are at the top of the list of facilities needs because they have met, or in some cases far exceeded, their life expectancy. At the high school, the roof and some of the heating and cooling equipment is original to the building. At the elementary, the leaky gym roof and a 1957 air handler are in need of replacement.
The second area needing improvement is safety and security. A safety audit and two facilities studies identified the high school and elementary offices not being near the front entrances as a significant safety risk. The School Board and Administration agreed and has worked with Plunkett-Raysich Architects (PRA) and Findorff Construction to come up with a plan to relocate the school offices near the front entrances, similar to the middle school office.
The third priority area is remodeling for additional classroom space at the middle/high school. The middle school has already exceeded capacity. This year alone there was a net increase of 43 students in the middle school, which has forced the middle school to use some high school classrooms closest to the middle school. Three of the current middle school grades are over 75 students, and one is approaching 90. As these grades roll into the high school, space is going to become an even bigger issue. In an effort to get ahead of the space challenges, the district, with the assistance of PRA and Findorff, has determined that the current science wing and an empty hallway in the high school could be reconfigured to be four classrooms, instead of two. Adding these two additional classrooms would help put off a larger building project for several years. Additionally, it would allow the district to modernize the outdated science classrooms and better adhere to current safety standards.
Fortunately, the New Glarus School District has been fiscally responsible by paying off additional debt and keeping the tax mill rate steady. Those measures have put the district in a position where the needed projects can done for a total of $5.8 million, without increasing the tax rate.