By Vanessa Lenz
SLN staff
After several years of planning and research, the East Troy Community School District Board of Education has determined which district facility upgrades are needed in the immediate future, but it will be up to taxpayers to decide whether renovation plans move forward.
The board on Monday night agreed to put two referendum questions on the Nov. 6 ballot by a vote of 4-1. (Board member Steve Lambrechts voted against the proposal.)
In the first question, voters will be asked to approve a $27.9 million plan for nine upgrades throughout the district.
The proposal, which came as a recommendation from the district’s ad-hoc Facilities Advisory Committee comprised of community members, includes the conversion of Prairie View Elementary School into a pre-K-5 building.
The option stems from a community survey in which a prevailing number of respondents indicated a desire to have a new elementary school constructed.
Following a 2009 district-wide facilities study, the school board opted to close Chester Byrnes in fall of 2010 due to a lengthy and cost list of repairs needed. Plans for the site and the future of Doubek Elementary School are yet to be determined.
The largest of the building projects includes the construction of an $8.5 million Performing Arts Center at East Troy High School.
The plan also calls for a $1.5 million in upgrades to the science, technology, engineering and math areas at ETHS, as well as $500,000 for athletic capital improvement projects, $122,500 to remodel the main entrance of the high school for security purposes and $150,000 to remodel bathrooms in the building to bring them up to ADA code.
The second referendum question will ask voters to support a $2.8 million project to remodel high school social studies and math classrooms to larger 1,200-1,300 square foot rooms to focus on 21st Century Learning styles and improve the technology education area in the high school, as well as the cafeteria/kitchen.
Facilities Advisory Committee member Ted Zess and representatives from Bray Architects and Miron Construction led the hour-long presentation on the proposed renovations to the district’s facilities, which were part of the district’s long-range use plan. The entire plan totals about $40 million.
The 28-member committee, which was tasked with prioritizing the district’s laundry list of facilities upgrades, initially recommended the board pursue one question for a referendum of about $25.6 million. (Final costs were adjusted by Miron/Bray associates to $31 million on Monday night.)
While the district improvements will be funded by a tax increase, business manager Kathy Zwirgzdas didn’t have exact numbers Monday showing how the referendum would impact the district tax levy.
When discussing a possible $25.6 million referendum, Zwirgzdas said residents who own a $150,000 home will most likely pay about $156 more in property taxes a year.
Zwirgzdas said the district’s planning, which has included paying off some of its debt early, has put it in a position where a significant amount of facility work can be done with little or no impact on the debt levy taxes.
The board’s decision received support from a number of residents in attendance, many who were members of the ad hoc committee.
Committee member Murry Mitten said the district needs to bring its facilities up-to-date and make them more efficient if it’s going to be a district of choice.
“Parents are making a huge investment in their children. Let’s make them invest here,” Mitten said.
Tim Griffin, facilities committee member, urged the board to include both STEM upgrades and the creation of the PAC in one question.
He said he enrolled his daughter in East Troy schools because they were the best at the time.
“Now we would choose Mukwonago,” he said.
Jean Stephan spoke in support of a performing arts center.
“It’s very, very important for the East Troy School District to have a facility that will meet the needs of the music program, drama program and the needs of the community. The stage here isn’t adequate,” she said.
A few East Troy High School students also spoke about how the current facilities in the lecture hall where most performances are held are outdated. Natalie Mengel said the noisy fans in the room take away from the performances by the drama department, choirs and band.
Sue Griffin, ETCSD parent and instructor at Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, encouraged the board to show leadership.
“Stand up and say this is what the community needs. If they say no, come back next year,” she said.
No one spoke in opposition of the proposal; however, the board debated whether to go with one or two referendum questions at various amounts.
Zess said while the ad hoc committee as a whole wanted the board to go for a one question referendum in the $25-$26 million range, he personally thought the move was risky.
“In my opinion there is a window of opportunity right now to get something passed, to start down the road of addressing the building needs of the district, but the plan has to be the right plan, at the right cost to have a chance of passing this district’s electorate, probably one of the most conservative in the state. I have yet to talk to anyone outside of the ad-hoc that would support a referendum of that size, at that cost,” Zess said.
He also asked the board to consider its operating budget and the fiscal challenges ahead of the district.
Lambrechts, who voted against a two-question referendum, said the referendum would have a better chance of passing if it were for a smaller amount. He suggested the board split the Prairie View and STEM upgrades, which he called a “no brainer” and the PAC and other upgrades.
“I just don’t want to miss the opportunity. If we don’t do something, we are a year behind of schedule,” Lambrechts said.
Board president Brian Wexler said the proposed building projects, including the PAC, are necessary to keep pace with other districts and allow East Troy’s students to flourish.
Wexler, who called the current concert and theatre facilities “shabby,” said he was “sick to death of watching elderly people fan themselves” during concerts in a hot gym.
“The bottom line is this is what’s in the best interest of the children. This community needs a performing arts center,” Wexler said.
Board member Martha Bresler said the district will need to work to persuade voters that East Troy cannot risk not approving both questions.
“In my mind there’s not a better dollar you can spend that’s the price of a ticket to one Brewers game,” she said of the impact the renovation will have on residents’ taxes.
With an Aug. 25 deadline to put the referendum on the November election ballot, the school board will vote on exact language during a special board meeting slated for Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. at East Troy High School.
