Referendum looks for $19.9 million to construct new elementary school addition
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
Williams Bay School District residents will notice a $19.9 million referendum on the ballot when they head out to the polls on Tuesday.
According to District Administrator Wayne Anderson’s blog on the referendum – accessible through the school website – the referendum aims to construct a new elementary school addition on to the current Williams Bay Junior/Senior High School.
Anderson wrote that the project cost include all new construction, limited renovations to the current junior/senior high school, site work, furnishings, equipment, professional services fees, permits and the cost to demolish the current elementary school if it cannot be sold by May 2015.
According to Anderson’s blog, the official ballot question will read as follows:
“Shall the School District of Williams Bay, Walworth County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue, pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $19,900,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of constructing, equipping and furnishing a new elementary school addition onto the existing Junior/Senior High School site and the cost of demolition of the current Elementary School?”
According to Anderson, the tax impact of the referendum will be $1.19 for every $1,000 of equalized value. As an example, this means taxpayers who have a home with an equalized value of $100,000 will see a $119 increase on their property taxes.
Currently, according to Anderson’s blog, the district’s current tax rate sits around $6.81 per $1,000 of equalized value, a rate that might change slightly one the district’s total equalized value is determined.
However, Anderson wrote that with increased student enrollment this year, he believes the district will be able to increase revenues and expenditures, effectively increasing equalized value. As a result, he wrote that he expects the district’s tax rate to drop slightly and taxpayers will be paying slightly less for the school portion of their property tax bill.
In comparison to other districts, Elkhorn Area School District recently adopted its annual budget, setting the tax rate at $10.92 per $1,000 of equalized value, and Anderson wrote that Delavan-Darien’s tax rate was $9.64 per $1,000 of equalized value last year.
Additionally, taxpayers in the joint districts have to pay the tax rate for the specific elementary school district they live in, as well as Big Foot High School’s tax rate, according to Anderson. As an example, Anderson wrote taxpayers living in the Walworth J1 Elementary School District, would pay the $4.98 rate for the elementary district and the $3.37 rate for the high school, a combined rate of $8.35 per $1,000 of equalized value.
“When you compare the property tax rate for the Williams Bay School District with any of our neighboring school districts, you can quickly see that our tax rate is lower than almost all of our neighboring school districts,” Anderson wrote. “I feel quite proud that the Williams Bay School District has been able to provide a great education at a tax rate that is less than many of our neighboring school districts.”
Anderson said last fall when the current high school was built in 1996, the board had purchased 80-acres of land with the intention of eventually closing down the elementary school, of which the main section was built in 1916 with an estimated five additions since.
In addition, Anderson explained with growing maintenance needs on the old school, the board felt 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 basically replace the roof, HVAC system, and remove asbestos, to name a few.
Providing the finalized referendum passes in November, based on personal experience, Anderson said last year construction would likely begin in the summer of 2015, with completion in about late spring or early summer of 2016.
Anderson said last fall, at that time, debt for the junior and senior high school building would likely be paid for, keeping debt fairly low.
