$19 million question will be on April ballot
By Vanessa Lenz
SLN Staff
The East Troy Community School District Board will ask voters for a second time to approve funding to update school buildings throughout the district.
The board agreed last Thursday to place a $19 million referendum question before voters on the April 2 ballot and approved final wording for the question on Monday night.
The question will include the much-debated community auditorium, safety and security upgrades throughout the district, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) addition at East Troy High School among other improvements.
Board members have discussed a number of options for an April referendum in the wake of a failed November referendum.
East Troy Community School District voters rejected by a 412 vote margin a $17.2 million referendum to pay for the construction of a $9.5 million community auditorium, $340,000 in safety and security upgrades throughout the district, $2.1 million for a STEM addition at ETHS, $1.4 million for renovation of the traditional technical education rooms at ETHS, as well as other district improvements.
The new question focuses on updates to the high school included in the original referendum question, security upgrades throughout the district and construction of a bus drop off loop at Prairie View to deal with traffic congestion.
The revised question also includes $1.35 million in maintenance to Doubek Elementary School to address significant needs at the site to keep the building operational in the short-term future.
While the school currently houses pre-K-first grade students, the board has indicated its desire to eventually move the district’s administration offices to the Beulah Avenue location.
All items from the original referendum will be included except for $500,000 earmarked for athletic capital improvements.
The school board held a meeting Jan. 10 to take a final look at proposals for a referendum before approving a question.
Options reviewed stem from the district’s $41 million long-range facilities plan developed by its 28-member ad-hoc Facilities Advisory Committee this summer.
The two main referendum options discussed, included the approved question, and a $17 million plan for renovations to keep Doubek Elementary School long-term, as well as most of the items in the original referendum except for the auditorium.
The board also looked at the possibility of including two referendum questions with the auditorium at ETHS as a second question.
“I very strongly disagree that the auditorium is a want not a need,” said board president Brian Wexler, who in the past questioned why the Nov. 6 referendum failed. “…I’m tired of going to these concerts and watching these kids packed in a gym and playing alongside basketball hoops.
“I am willing at this point to support the auditorium.”
Board members have argued the referendum failed due to lack of awareness.
They plan to utilize social media and spread information in various ways to educate voters on the new referendum.
Board member Martha Bresler said she is optimistic voters will support the needs of the district this time around.
“If the auditorium seems to be the sticking point… lets spend a little time and contact the groups in the community (to see how they would use it),” Bresler said.
She also suggested offering district residents a virtual tour of the school so they can see how immediate the needs are.
Board member Mike Zei agreed.
“We are moving the community in a different direction. We are doing it because we are in a super competitive environment. The world is changing so quickly,” Zei said.
Business manager Kathy Zwirgzdas said the district will be in a similar financial situation this spring as when it went to referendum in November. She said once again due to early debt payments the district can do about $15 million in facility work with no impact on the debt levy taxes.
Vote will be held April 2
The referendum on improvements throughout the East Troy Community School District will be held on April 2. The question on the ballot will read:
“Shall the East Troy Community School District, Walworth and Waukesha counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $19 million for the public purpose of safety and security improvements at district buildings; constructing auditorium, classroom and kitchen/cafeteria/office additions to and remodeling, renovation and improvement projects at the high school; repair, maintenance and improvement projects at Leona Doubek Elementary School and acquiring furnishings, fixtures and equipment?”
NO auditorium Please–everything elase is important and should come first!!!
Why, Beverly? We are the one of the few school districts that does not have an actual auditorium! Burlington, Elkhorn, Mukwonago, Waterford, and Whitewater (just to name a few) all have auditoriums. You can’t really call our 200 seat auditorium an auditorium! It’s been there since the 70s. This auditorium isn’t just for the schools, but for the community! Just because you don’t think it’s important doesn’t mean that it’s not important to those future musicians, the future actors and actresses, and the future directors. They think it’s pretty important. Have you talked to any of the parents that have kids in the community and had to sit in the High School Auditorium for a concert or a play or a musical?
With School Choice and parents being able to move their child to whatever school district they want, East Troy loses millions of dollars because of that. This Community chose almost 20 years ago to build Prairie View instead of a new High School because it was cheaper. And what was proposed in November is now over a million dollars more and the only thing that has changed is time. We want to be the District of Choice. We have the Academics and the Athletics and all we are missing is the Arts!
The school system that I had 10 years ago wouldn’t work now, so why do people think that the schools that they had 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago would be just fine. Things are constancy changing and we have to change with them or we are going to be left behind.
We talk about how we need to make the world a better place for our kids and our grandkids and yet we do nothing. We just kick the bucket down the road, and let our kids and grandkids deal with. We are failing them as community and we should be ashamed.
They say “It takes a Village to raise a Child”, will this community stand up and say “YES” for the Children or will we say NO, you education doesn’t matter. Will we send them out into the world ready to succeed or will we be sending them out waiting for them to fall flat on their faces? Their future is in our hands and in April we will tell them what we think about their future!
The community survey indicated that the majority of students utilizing school choice to leave the ET district did so for convenience reasons such as proximity to parents’ workplace, etc. – NOT lack of an auditorium. If the backing for the auditorium is truly there, why not place it on the ballot separately? The board continues to combine the auditorium in a package that includes necessities such as security upgrades and improving handicapped accessibility. It has been voted down twice already- the community has spoken. In the meantime, critical funding for these necessities are being held hostage by the inclusion of the auditorium because the board continues to piggyback the controversial auditorium with legitimate necessities. Community- vote no until the board proposes an honest true vote for the auditorium by placing it separately on the ballot.
The board will NOT put the auditorium on a separate ballot because it would no get voted in.In 1968 the board did put it on a separate ballot and that was only for $300,00o and it did not get passed.It’s too bad that the board doesn’t get the message.