Vote on new elementary school will likely be held in Nov. 2014
By Kellen Olshefski
Staff Writer
The Williams Bay School Board of Education is continuing work on a future referendum to fund the fusion of its two schools.
District Administrator Wayne Anderson said the School Board has been discussing the possibility of the referendum since before he came on board in August of this year, likely for a good portion of last school year.
According to Anderson, while it is still subject to change, the referendum aims to add to the current junior and senior high school, so the district would have a central campus with grades pre-kindergarten through 12th all on one complex.
Anderson said when the current high school was built in 1996, the board had purchased 80-acres of land with the intention of eventually closing the elementary school, of which the main section was built in 1916 with an estimated five additions since.
According to Anderson, not only were Williams Bay students once all under the same roof, but reverting to this strategy will aid the district in preserving resources, eliminating the need for staff to travel between the two schools.
In addition, Anderson explained, with growing maintenance needs on the old school, the board feels it would be more financially responsible to combine the two schools. He said a study done two years ago indicated there was between $8 to $9 million of maintenance costs at the time that would replace the roof, HVAC system, and remove asbestos, to name a few.
“There’s just a litany of projects,” he said.
Another estimate in the study accounted for $11 million that would help change traffic patterns with the numerous dead ends in the building.
“So, rather than put money into that building on just maintenance projects, it’s just more cost effective to build a new building or add additions on to this building,” Anderson said.
A recent community survey outlining several different options, of which approximately 500 people responded, according to Anderson, asked if people would support an $18 million option.
Anderson said the option would build an attached school on the site, but for all practical purposes would be like two separate buildings.
He said the attached buildings wouldn’t share spaces, would have separate entrances and bus drop-off, and parking lots.
“The students would be on the same site but there really wouldn’t be much comingling,” he said.
A second option for $15 million would have more shared spaces.
While most parents agreed on a separate structure, Anderson said the community did comment on the cost. He said the board is continuing to look at different design options to meet space needs and determine the most economical cost that would accomplish their goal.
Anderson noted while some concepts of the referendum are still in discussion, there are some aspects that are pretty solid.
“I think it’s solid we are not going to continue to use the elementary school,” he said.
“That is not an option, renovation of that building is not an option they’re looking at. They’re looking at a new structure, just what that structure will be … those are still many discussions away.”
According to Anderson, the board is aiming to design a referendum that takes care of current needs of the district, but also create a site map for the future.
“They want to address the needs now but they want to have a plan so the people can see where they’re going as the district continues to grow,” he said.
Anderson said the district currently has a core committee focused on the referendum. As of now, he said the referendum is being postponed up until the mid-term elections in November 2014.
Providing the finalized referendum passes in November, Anderson said construction would likely begin in the summer of 2015, with completion in about late spring or early summer of 2016.
“Should this building go according to the plan, I think realistically students would then be in that new section in the 2016-2017 school year,” he said.
At that time, debt for the junior and senior high school building would likely be paid, keeping total debt fairly low.
Anderson said he thinks it’s important the public understands the board is working to actively involve the community in discussions.
“They’re planning more discussions in the near future to review with the public to make certain their thoughts and desires match the thoughts and desires of the school district,” he said. “There’s still lots of decisions that need to be made.”
