(WBAY) – Green Bay, Wisconsin Less than a week remains until the midterm elections, and your neighbourhood school might be involved.
School officials in Green Bay are pleading with voters to approve a referendum and outlining how it will help pupils.
You can see this crack extending in this direction from here and running the entire distance.
Josh Patchak, the chief operating officer, points to the roof crack and the severely damaged asphalt in the stadium at West High School.
He claims that there are no seats in the auditorium at Edison Middle School and partially open bleachers at East High School.
Officials of the Green Bay Area Public School District believe that issues of this nature must be resolved, and they are hoping that voters will agree. To fix them costs money.
According to Patchak, “the Wisconsin state funding structure requires a referendum to bond in order to conduct significant maintenance projects or building improvements—to receive the money upfront to finish those tasks.”
And the list of projects isn’t getting any smaller.
There are many things that aren’t always readily apparent, such as 56-year-old windows, boilers, and other items that are just nearing the end of their useful lives. And that needs to be taken care of. Provide educational spaces for pupils to be proud of. facilities that are up to date with educational requirements. And that’s what we hope to accomplish here. ”
Voters are being urged by the school district to approve a $92 million capital referendum.
Green Bay voters last approved a referendum in 2017, and the district has already paid off that debt.
“Saving the taxpayers $12 million in interest payments by paying off that debt early from the 2017 referendum,” said Patchak.
Even if this referendum is successful, according to Patchak, the mill rate for taxpayers will decrease because the district has paid off its debt. The mill rate is the tax per thousand dollars of a home’s fair market value.
If the referendum is unsuccessful, the mill rate would decrease even further, but Patchak claims that it would be worthwhile to approve the funds.
“Good schools that are kept up well draw people to the area. It maintains high property values. Therefore, even those who don’t have children in school can still get the benefits.
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Members of the Brown County Taxpayers Association told us they’re taking a neutral position on this referendum, though they said they’re concerned about district operations, including incurring new debt after previous debts are paid off.
13 school districts in the coverage area of WBAY are asking voters to approve referendums, with Green Bay being one of them.
The others include
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has a list of referendums that you can download, along with a spreadsheet that details each one’s exact questions (XLSX format)..
Green Bay schools ask for $92 million from voters.
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