Wauwatosa School District will ask voters for $124 million with two referendums

The Wauwatosa School Board voted unanimously Monday to put two referendum questions on the November ballot, asking voters for an additional $124 million in tax funding.

One referendum, an operational referendum, would allow the district to raise an additional $16.1 million per year for four years for operations, a total of $64.4 million. The other referendum, a facilities referendum, would allow the district to raise an additional $60 million.

Board members voted 6-0 in support of the placing the referendums on the ballot. Board member Jessica Willis was absent from the meeting.

Here's what to know about the proposed referendum questions.

What are the details of Wauwatosa's operational referendum?

If the operational referendum is approved by voters, the district would receive an additional $16.1 million per year, starting in the 2025-26 school year and ending in the 2028-29 school year. The money would fund district operations, including salaries, benefits, and instructional and co-curricular programming.

Of the total $64.4 million over the four years, $52.4 million would cover the district's operational shortfall, $8 million would cover increases in educator compensation, and $4 million would cover curricular materials. The district would use its fund balance to cover a projected funding gap of $9.3 million for the 2024-25 school year, according to a news release from the Wauwatosa School District.

The original proposal on the table at the start of the meeting was $12.1 million per year for four years, totaling $48.4 million. However, after just under three hours of board discussion, board members decided instead to amend the proposal by increasing the amount to $16.1 million per year.

Wauwatosa School Board President Eric Jessup-Anger said there were several things he was considering going into Monday's meeting. Those factors included the amount of tax increase the community was willing to support, the district needing additional funds due to the lack of state funding, and the community's expectations for its schools — including resources to make its schools safe, accessibility for students with disabilities, well-paid teachers, updated curriculum, academic interventionists, and mental health support for students.

What are the details of Wauwatosa's facilities referendum?

If the facilities referendum is approved by voters, the district would receive $60 million over 20 years for facilities projects.

The projects would include addressing maintenance projects that had been put off, as well as projects to meet Americans with Disabilities facilities standards, at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Washington elementary schools; and at the district's Fisher Administration building, which houses Wauwatosa Montessori.

The referendum would also fund projects to meet ADA standards at Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West high schools.

What is the tax impact of each referendum question?

The tax impact of both referendum questions, if both pass, would be $2.10 per $1,000 of property value. The owner of a $350,000 home would pay an additional $735 annually in school taxes.

On top of the district's current school tax rate of $6.68 per $1,000 of property value, that would bring the district's tax rate to $8.78 per $1,000.

"Since this would not be initiated until the 2025-26 school year, this is an estimated impact based on a 2023-24 budget projection," said Wauwatosa School District chief finance and operations officer Keith Brightman in an email to a reporter.

When was the last time the Wauwatosa School District held a referendum?

The district last held a referendum in November 2018, when voters passed a $124.9 million referendum that funded projects at all district schools, but primarily focused on new construction and renovations to Lincoln, McKinley, Underwood and Wilson/WSTEM Elementary Schools.

What about the district's proposed 7-12 grade reconfiguration?

The district has proposed closing its two middle schools, Longfellow and Whitman, and making its high schools, Wauwatosa East and West, seventh through 12th grade buildings, with separate areas carved out at the high school buildings for seventh and eighth graders.

District officials said that by closing the middle schools, they could save $28 million in deferred maintenance costs at both buildings and avoid paying between $440 million and $530 million to remodel the two buildings. The changes are proposed to start in the 2029-30 school year.

However, that proposal, which would create separation between the middle and high school areas of the buildings, would not be part of the November 2024 referendum. Instead, the district would place a facilities referendum on the November 2026 ballot depending on how much in improvements district residents would support. The district has not specified what the dollar amount of that referendum might be.

What are the estimated costs of the deferred maintenance and ADA projects that would be covered by the facilities referendum?

Here is how much the deferred maintenance needs and ADA projects are estimated to cost at each of the schools, according to the Wauwatosa School District's long-range facilities plan:

• Wauwatosa East High School: about $48.89 million

• Wauwatosa West High School: about $22.25 million

• Washington Elementary School: about $8.40 million

• Jefferson Elementary School: about $8.13 million

• Madison Elementary School: about $7.57 million

• Montessori/Fisher: about $7.04 million

• Roosevelt Elementary School: about $6.47 million

• Eisenhower Elementary School: about $6.02 million

Deferred maintenance at Longfellow Middle School is approximately $14.55 million and $11.66 million at Whitman Middle School, but those projects would not be included in the facilities referendum.

What specific projects would be covered by the facilities referendum?

Here are some of the projects that are listed for each school.

Wauwatosa East High School

• $16.03 million to install new central high-efficiency hot water boiler plant to replace the old steam boiler plant that's in poor condition

• $3.64 million to replace remaining, outdated pneumatic controls with a new digital control system

• $3.21 million to restore school's masonry, as its current brick is deteriorating

• $2.15 million to replace certain roof sections

• $1.96 million to remodel group bathrooms to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards

Wauwatosa West High School

• $1.87 million to replace certain roof sections

• $1.18 million to remodel group restrooms to provide stall and fixtures to meet ADA standards

• $1.17 million to replace old wood doors throughout the building with new hollow metal frames and wood doors

• $1.14 million to replace all interior lighting with LED type fixtures controlled with occupancy sensors

• $920,477 to replace aging indoor air handling units on the north end of the school with new high-efficiency air handling units

Washington Elementary School

• $882,124 to replace dated and inefficient windows

• $621,322 to replace damaged ceiling tiles

• $613,652 to renovate school's front entry area to make it more secure

• $551,250 to remodel group restrooms to meet ADA standards

• $536,945 to remove the existing boilers and pumps and install a new central high-efficiency hot water boiler plant

Jefferson Elementary School

• $767,064 to replace original single pane glass windows with operable portions

• $700,713 to replace aged and sometimes peeling ceilings

• $613,652 to replace classroom unit ventilators with new units containing both hot water and chilled water coils. The chilled water coils would be for a future chilled water system to eventually replace the room air conditioning.

• $536,945 to remove existing boilers and pumps and install a new central high-efficiency hot water boiler plant

• $524,672 to replace aged classroom casework and sinks for older grade levels with new casework and sinks that meet ADA standards

Madison Elementary School

• $1.21 million to replace certain roof sections

• $776,530 to restore half the building's masonry mortar that's cracking by removing all exterior sealant not used in a control joint

• $697,262 to replace windows that are original single pane glass with operable portions, which are aged and inefficient

• $613,652 to renovate offices and front entry to provide secure entry with added buzz-in at the office and buzz-out into the school

• $613,652 to replace old playgrounds

Fisher Administration/Montessori building

• $1.07 million to replace old and efficient cooling systems with a new central high-efficiency chilled water system

• $882,124 to replace rooftop air handling units

• $882,000 to replace certain roof sections

• $536,945 to remove existing boilers and install new central high-efficiency hot water boiler plant

• $484,785 to remove outdated pneumatic controls and extend existing digital control system

Roosevelt Elementary School

• $997,184 to replace dated and inefficient windows

• $613,652 for renovating front entry area to make it more secure

• $483,251 to replace unrenovated ceilings that are damaged

• $465,272 to remodel restrooms to meet ADA standards

• $441,000 to provide new wall mounted plumbing fixtures, sensor operated flush valves and faucets to meet ADA standards

Eisenhower Elementary School

• $1.32 million to replace certain roof sections

• $580,975 to remove existing wall finishes of existing concrete masonry unit; add new layer of moisture resistant gypsum sheathing and new tackable interior wall finish

• $322,167 to provide sensor operated flush valves and faucets in toilet rooms; provide new wall mounted plumbing fixtures where possible and trim accessories

• $283,507 to replace cabinetry, countertop, sink, faucet and piping as required to meet ADA standards

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa School Board puts referendum questions on November ballot