Click n questin belw t view answer Q. Hw are yu ging t handle, and hpefully imprve, drp ff/pick up at Westwd Elementary Schl? Q. Why wuldn t yu cnnect the new 5/6 building t the 7/8 building? Q. Why a referendum nw? Q. What are we vting n? Q. Hw was this plan develped? Q. Why tw questins? Q. Will there be a new grade cnfiguratin? Q. What if Questin #1 passes and Questin #2 fails? Q. What if Questin #2 passes and Questin #1 fails? Q. What is the scpe f wrk and cst at each schl? Q. What is a multi-purpse facility? Q. Will the cmmunity be able t use the multi-purpse facility? Q. Is there a pl in the multi-purpse facility? Q. Has the district ever cnsidered fundraising fr athletic imprvements? Q. If the referendums pass, hw will it affect my taxes? Q. What is a mill rate? Q. Why is the tax impact fr Questin #2 mre than Questin #1 when the prject cst is less? Q. When will the prjects be cmplete? Q. Why is the debt amrtized ver 20 years? Q. Why can t the district address its facility needs within its maintenance budget? Q. What happens if the referendum des nt pass? Q. Where can I get mre infrmatin abut the referendum? Q. Where can I get infrmatin abut vting? Q. Where will the questins be lcated n the actual ballt?
Q. Why a referendum nw? The slutins prpsed fcus n fur key initiatives:
Q. What are we vting n? Questin 1 asks fr apprval t brrw an amunt nt t exceed $64,800,000 fr cnstructin f a new Intermediate Schl; cnstructin f additins and renvatins at the High Schl; renvatins at Westwd Elementary Schl and the current Middle Schl; District-wide building system, infrastructure and site imprvements, including relcatin f certain athletic fields t accmmdate cnstructin f the new Intermediate Schl. Questin 2 asks fr apprval t brrw an amunt nt t exceed $9,900,000 fr cnstructin f a new indr multi-purpse facility and ther utdr stadium and athletic facility imprvements at the High Schl, including cnstructin f cncessin/restrm/team facilities, new bleachers and track imprvements. Q. Hw was this plan develped? The administrative team and Bard f Educatin have been discussing ur enrllment grwth since 2008 with studies being cmpleted by Applied Ppulatin Labratries, (Madisn, Wiscnsin) and MDRffers Cnsulting, (Madisn, Wiscnsin). Schl Perceptins LLC, (Slinger, Wiscnsin) cmpleted a cmmunity survey and a summary f the results were shared in the Winter 2017 Phantastic Newsletter. In additin, district data was presented at tw Fcus Grup sessins t share mre infrmatin. Befre ur grade cnfiguratin change was final, fur f ur administratrs cmpleted site visits t eight schl districts in Wiscnsin that were high perfrming and have established K-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12 buildings. The Bard tk actin t apprve this grade structure at their July 25th meeting. If yu wuld like mre infrmatin, please g n the district website which will prvide all f this backgrund infrmatin. Q. Why tw questins? Each questin is distinct and requires its wn yes r n vte. The Bard f Educatin has priritized the needs f the District and is asking the cmmunity t vte n each grup f prjects independently. Bth questins are imprtant t the District, and each requires a separate respnse.
This is NOT an either/r situatin; yu shuld cnsider each ne independently. Hwever, shuld Questin 1 fail and Questin 2 pass, the District wuld nt g frward with nly Questin 2 prjects. Q. Will there be a new grade cnfiguratin? Yes. In rder t address increasing enrllment and best utilize existing facilities, the prpsed slutin includes the fllwing grade recnfiguratin: Q. What if Questin #1 passes and Questin #2 fails? If Questin #1 passes and Questin #2 fails, the Bard f Educatin will still prceed with Questin #1. Q. What if Questin #2 passes and Questin #1 fails? If Questin #2 passes and Questin #1 fails, the Bard f Educatin has stated that they will nt prceed with Questin #2. Q. What is the scpe f wrk and cst at each schl? Questin 1: $64,800,000 Westwd Elementary Schl: $3,600,000 Plumbing, heating/ventilatin and electrical system imprvements Cafeteria/kitchen renvatin and upgrades Playgrund imprvements Relcatin f sftball fields frm Middle Schl, including expanded parking and new restrm facilities with cncessins New Intermediate Schl: $35,400,000 New tw-stry schl including: General and special educatin classrms Art, music and science Resurce and small grup instructin areas t supprt hands-n learning
Library, cafeteria and tw-curt gymnasium Additinal playgrund area Separate parent and bus drp-ff/pick-up areas West De Pere Middle Schl: $4,900,000 Building system and exterir upgrades including: Plumbing, heating/ventilatin and electrical system imprvements Air cnditining f the existing gym and kitchen Partial rf and exterir dr replacements Site imprvements, including parking lt resurfacing and additinal sidewalks West De Pere High Schl: $20,900,000 Questin 2: $9,900,000 Plumbing, heating/ventilatin and electrical system imprvements Tw-stry classrm additin Classrm and ffice renvatins Auditrium expansin and renvatin Fitness/lcker rm additins and renvatins Site imprvements, including main parking lt expansin West De Pere High Schl Indr multi-purpse facility additin nt High Schl ($7,200,000) Stadium imprvements, including expanded bleachers, sprint lanes t existing track and a cncessin/restrm/strage building ($2,700,000) Q. What is a multi-purpse facility? A multi-purpse facility is an indr structure prviding a synthetic turf surface that culd be used year-rund fr varius academic, c-curricular, fitness and public activities, including: Physical educatin classes Advanced Placement (AP) and state testing (ACT, Aspire, Civics) Marching band practice Speed and strength training Athletic and c-curricular practices Cmmunity activities and events
Q. Will the cmmunity be able t use the multi-purpse facility? Like all schl facilities (e.g. gymnasiums, utdr fields, etc.), the District will aim t make the multi-purpse facility available as frequently as pssible t the cmmunity when it is nt being used fr schl activities. Q. Is there a pl in the multi-purpse facility? N, there is nt a pl in this facility. Q. Has the district ever cnsidered fundraising fr athletic imprvements? Many f ur majr athletic imprvements have primarily been achieved thrugh cmmunity dnatins. Stadium Cncessin Stand Dnrs Baseball/Sftball Cncessin Stand Dnrs Sccer Cmplex Dnrs Varsity Baseball Lights Dnrs Fitness Rm Additin Dnrs Fitness Rm Equipment (2002) Bster Club Varsity Sftball Field City f De Pere / District Tennis Curts Dnr / District Synthetic Stadium Turf & Press Bx Dnrs / District Ftball/Sccer Lights District Q. If the referendums pass, hw will it affect my taxes? The District is abut t pay ff the lans assciated with updates at Westwd Elementary, as well as the Middle and High Schls, that were apprved by the May 2000 referendum. As a result, the debt prtin f the schl prperty tax bill will begin t drp in 2020. The tax impact calculatin fr Questin 1 takes int cnsideratin the drp in 2020 and represents the increase ver the current amunt paid fr referendum debt. The tax impact fr Questin 2, n the ther hand, is n a stand-alne basis.
Assumptins: Referendum assumes tw-phase brrwing (in 2019 and 2020) with 20-year amrtizatins using interest rates f 4.00% and 4.25%, respectively. State Aid Reimbursement: 10% (current tertiary level). Valuatin Grwth: 2.00% fr fur years and 0% thereafter. Prjectins prvided by PMA Securities, District Financial Advisr. Q. What is a mill rate? The District s mill rate has a direct impact n the schl prtin f each taxpayer s annual prperty tax bill and is determined by dividing the tax levy by the equalized valuatin. The tax levy is the ttal amunt f mney that is being requested fr the District s peratins; the limit is set thrugh the State s revenue limit frmula. Equalized value is the fair market dllar value f the prperty within District bundaries. The District s gal has always been t prvide the highest quality educatin pssible while being respnsible stewards f taxpayer dllars. The mill rate is represented per 1,000 f prperty value; t translate the mill rate int tax impact, multiple the mill rate x 1,000 f prperty value. Fr example, Questin 1 f the referendum is estimated t increase the District s mill rate by $.24 ver the 2018-2019 mill rate. If yur hme is valued at $100,000, yur taxes are estimated t increase by $24 per year. Q. Why is the tax impact fr Questin #2 mre than Questin #1 when the prject cst is less? The tax impact calculatin fr Questin 1 takes int cnsideratin the drp in 2020 and represents the increase ver the current amunt paid fr referendum debt. The tax impact fr Questin 2, n the ther hand, is n a stand-alne basis.
Q. When will the prjects be cmplete? Q. Why is the debt amrtized ver 20 years? Wiscnsin State Statute limits the District t a maximum f 20 years fr general bligatin debt. Hwever, there is n penalty t pay the debt ff early.
Q. Why can t the district address its facility needs within its maintenance budget? The District s maintenance budget cannt cver the investments that the district currently needs. The District can d minr repairs, upgrades, r imprvements thrugh their annual maintenance budget, but new buildings, r large scale renvatins/additins r upgrades, as in the prpsed referendum can nly be cmpleted with a bnd issue amrtized ver 20 years. Q. What happens if the referendum des nt pass? The Schl District wuld have multiple ptins t include, but are nt limited t: larger class sizes, purchase f prtable trailers t be used as classrms Q. Where can I get mre infrmatin abut the referendum? There are several ptins fr residents t get mre infrmatin: Visit the District s website: wdpsd.cm Call the District Office: 920.337.1393 ext. #8025 Email: jzegers@wdpsd.cm Fllw the District n Facebk, www.facebk.cm/schldistrictfwdp Watch fr future mailings Attend an Open Huse: Wednesday, Octber 17th, 6-7:30PM, High Schl Cmmns Tuesday, Octber 25th, 6-7:30PM, Middle Schl Cmmns Q. Where can I get infrmatin abut vting? Visit MYVOTE.WI.GOV t: Find ut where yu vte Update yur vter re gistratin Request an absentee ballt Review yur vting histry Find yur lcal municipal clerk Q. Where will the questins be lcated n the actual ballt? It depends n the municipality in which yu live. In the City f De Pere and Twn f Oneida, the questins will be n the back f the ballt. In the Twn f Lawrence, Village f Ashwaubenn, Village f Hbart; the questins will be n the frnt f the ballt.
Q. Hw are yu ging t handle, and hpefully imprve, drp ff/pick up at Westwd Elementary Schl? We are currently discussing traffic patterns in and arund the Middle Schl, High Schl and Westwd Elementary with the City f De Pere. Our current plan is t create separate parent and bus drp ff and pick up areas at the new 5/6 building. The new bus drp ff/pick up area will serve bth the new schl and the existing middle schl. This shared use will eliminate bus traffic n the suth and west sides f the current middle schl. A traffic analysis will be cmpleted after the Nvember 6 th vting. Q. Why wuldn t yu cnnect the new 5/6 building t the 7/8 building? Cnnecting the tw schls was cnsidered and after weighing the advantages and disadvantages, the District elected t cnnect the tw buildings with an utdr sidewalk vs. an expansin f the building. This decisin was made after cnsulting with schl district fficials thrughut Wiscnsin that currently perate successfully with a 5/6 and 7/8 grade cnfiguratin. In additin, cnnecting the tw schls wuld add additinal expense that we didn t feel was necessary.