WAUNAKEE, Wis. – There are dozens of school referendums facing voters around the state. Some are asking for help keeping the districts operational, others asking for capital project funding, and in Waunakee, district leaders are asking for both.
Of the nine districts in Dane County taking their needs to the Nov. 8 ballot, Waunakee’s proposal is the most expensive at $175 million dollars to fund the building of two new schools.
RELATED: Campaign 2022 School Referendum Questions Campaign 2022
Waunakee Community School District Superintendent Randy Guttenberg said the district is asking people to vote yes largely because the area’s enrollment growth means it no longer has enough space to meet students’ needs.
“It’ll bring a much more modern learning environment for those children,” Guttenberg said. “Then as we are able to build a new middle school, really similar type of amenities as far as how kids learn and how our teachers teach.”
He said he recognizes it’s a lot of money to ask for but wants to emphasize the project will take five years to complete and that the district has worked hard to keep people’s taxes relatively stable over time.
Guttenberg credits strategies like paying off debt early and a rise in property value to reach what is classified, on the referendum website, as a net-zero increase in tax dollars.
RELATED: Across Wisconsin, school referendums for basic budget expenses hit 10-year high
WCSD is also asking for help keeping its existing schools running. In a second question, the district is seeking an additional $10 million for things like recruitment, staff retention and maintaining some of its math and reading programs.
Guttenberg said a yes vote on both questions is crucial for the district’s future. He said WCSD’s middle school is currently at capacity and uses portable classrooms to fit all of its students.
If the capital project is passed, Waunakee would build a new Heritage Elementary School at a different site on Woodland Drive next to Waunakee Intermediate School.
Once that is complete, the old school, built in 1936, would be torn down and the district would build a new middle school in its place. The district expects that school, which would initially serve 900 students in seventh and eighth grades and could be expanded to house up to 1,000 students, would likely be completed by the fall of 2026.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
