Wausau School District. MWC file photo.
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Members of the Wausau School Board spent more than two hours hearing the case for two additional school referendum questions during their regular meeting Monday evening.
Principals from nearly every Wausau School District building gave short presentations about what improvements would be made at their schools if both the board and voters approve the questions. For some that would include simple luxuries such as air conditioning. Others are looking for modern upgrades like multiple power outlets for their classrooms. Board President Tricia Zunker said the overlying themes in each of the presentations were safety and efficiency.
“Safety just kept resonating- student safety and also staff safety. Efficiency- whether we are talking about drop-offs or making sure that our elementary schools have a separate cafeteria and gymnasium,” she said.
Many buildings would also see improved parking efficiencies along with more secure and welcoming entrances. Plans also include a district-wide upgrade from fluorescent to LED bulbs in classrooms which would decrease energy costs. Officials say it could also provide a better learning environment for students because LED lights mimic sunlight.
Superintendent Dr. Keith Hilts says the $149 million price tag for the wish list could be much higher if major improvements to Wausau East and West High Schools were added into the mix. Both buildings are scheduled for smaller projects in the current proposal. Larger fixes have been left out on purpose because the proposal would not raise taxes if approved.
“We are at a current level of funding, level of support from the community. And as we know in this proposal we have a unique opportunity to offer this large investment with zero tax increase,” said Hilts. “I would like to set the expectation that this is a level of support that we would like the community to continue to offer.”
Hilts says if the proposal goes back to voters and is approved, then maybe in another five years they can come back and consider more upgrades at the high schools.
“If we wanted to do the projects at West and East there would be another $50 million. We just didn’t think that this was the time to do that.
“We can do this project without raising taxes. Perhaps five years from now we come back and again, maintain that level of support, [to do] some upgrades at West and some upgrades at East.”
The second referendum question involves $4 million in funding for added staff positions in the area of social work, counselors, school psychologists, and health aids. District officials say those positions would work to improve students’ behavior, physical, social, emotional, and mental health.
Those funds would also be used to insulate against what district officials say is “unpredictable” state funding levels while also funding some smaller projects.
The board voted to instruct staff to finalize the language for the referendum questions following the presentation. They’ll meet again on Monday to review that and then vote again to officially send the questions to the ballot for the April 6th non-partisan election.
Hilts says the Board will be provided with a bullet point list of projects for each school at that meeting.
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