Voters approve Green Bay, Denmark and Pulaski schools' combined 5 referendum questions
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GREEN BAY — Voters approved all the Brown County school funding referendums on the ballot Tuesday, securing funding for the Green Bay, Pulaski and the Denmark school districts.
The Green Bay School District's $92.6 million capital referendum was approved with 68.53% voting in favor of the measure, according to the county's unofficial election results.
"It would be impossible to overstate how important this referendum is to our district. It's a very good indicator of how important public education is to people in this community," School Board President Laura McCoy said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. "I am happy and relieved and very grateful to people who voted in favor of it."
In Denmark, unofficial results late Tuesday showed both the $31 million capital and $2.77 million operational referendums for the Denmark School District were approved.
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Both questions were approved by Brown County voters with 61.03% voting in favor of the operational referendum and 63% in favor of the capital referendum and 100% of precincts reporting.
In Manitowoc County, 52.5% voted in favor of the operational referendum and 51.6% voted for the capital referendum.
Both of Denmark's referendum questions were approved by Kewaunee County voters by 72.5% and 70% for the operational and capital referendums, respectively.
In Pulaski, unofficial results late Tuesday night showed that both its $69.8 million capital and $8.5 million operational referendums passed.
Voters approved the operational and capital referendums by 53% and 58.7%, respectively.
“The passing of the referendum provides us with the opportunity to support the growth that is occurring withinour elementary schools, working on our aging buildings, safety and security, and other updates,” said MarkLogan, the district's director of business services, in a press release Wednesday morning.
In the same release, Superintendent Allison Space said: "We also appreciate the commitment to providing support for our district growth, capacity concerns, and building needs for safety, security, and maintenance."
The Denmark School Districts didn't respond to interview requests Wednesday morning.
Green Bay Schools will get maintenance, athletic facility and playground upgrades
Based on the preliminary projects plans, $43 million of the Green Bay School District's referendum funding will go toward addressing districtwide deferred maintenance while $48 million will be spent on middle school and high school facility improvements. Elementary playground upgrades will cost an additional $1.2 million.
The $48 million for secondary improvements will mainly go toward renovating sports facilities and auditoriums.
The district estimates it will take two to four years to pay off the referendum debt. Barring any other changes to school spending, the the property tax rate for the district is expected to fall to $8 per $1,000 fair market valuation of property.
But despite the $1.03 drop in the tax rate for school spending, Green Bay property taxes will likely go up because fair market property values increased by 14% in Wisconsin this year.
If your property's fair market value followed the trends of the rest of the state, you'll likely pay more in taxes. For a home with a fair market value of $175,000, a homeowner can expect to pay about $1,400 in taxes to the school district.
For Green Bay voter, Emily Kyle, who aligns mostly with Democrats, she voted for Tony Evers for governor for "feminist and education purposes."
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One of her top issues is education. "I was a teacher in the past. I have a lot of respect for teachers and have changed career fields due to the times (that we're in) to be honest."
Kristopher Healy, 51 of Green Bay, said education was his top issue for the election, and he voted in favor of the referendum.
"I'm not big into politics," he said. "...My biggest concern is the schools."
For voters Jerionta Stevenson and Shayna Amanson, they left the referendum question blank because they don't have kids in the Green Bay School District.
Denmark can sustain its operations and expand elementary school
The Denmark School District put two referendum questions on the ballot: a $31 million capital referendum and a $2.77 million operational referendum.
The $31 million in capital referendum funding will allow the district to remodel and expand Denmark Elementary School to absorb the Early Childhood Center.
The center will close, and 4K and early childhood students will go to the elementary school. New classrooms and learning spaces will be added for the early childhood students, and a cafeteria and gym would be built for students in 4K through fifth grade.
The district also plans to remodel the drop-off and pick-up areas to improve safety by separating bus traffic and pedestrians.
A new secure entrance will be created with the addition to the elementary school to better control access and visitors. With the addition, the elementary school will be ready for a second story to be added as enrollment grows in the future.
Construction is slated to be completed by the winter of 2024 and the debt is scheduled to be paid off over the next 21 years.
The operational referendum will let the district exceed it's state imposed spending cap by $925,000 for the next three years and is a renewal of it's current operational referendum that was passed in 2020.
Operational referendums allow districts to increase the tax levy up to the referendum amount, so the district isn't taking on debt for the additional $925,000.
The additional revenue will help the district sustain its current operations, the $925,000 making up 5% of the budget, according to District Administrator Luke Goral.
For this year, the tax rate will be $7.67 regardless of the election results, according to Goral. The impacts on taxes wouldn't be felt until the 2023-2024 school year when the referendums would take effect.
Since both referendum questions passed, based on unofficial election results, the tax rate will increase 15 cents to increase to $7.91 per $1,000 of fair market property value.
Pulaski's schools will get makeovers to add classrooms and address overcrowding
The $69.8 million capital referendum will go toward three main projects to address overcrowding at three schools. The district plans for expansions at both Sunnyside and Hillcrest elementary schools and an expansion of the Technology Education space at Pulaski High School.
The district plans to pay off the debt in about two decades.
At Sunnyside Elementary School, one floor of the school is below ground, which means that some students only get to see natural light at recess. Under the proposed plans, the school will get an outdoor courtyard in the center of the school to provide light to students throughout the day.
Current classrooms will be renovated, and a new addition would give the school over 10 new classrooms, a larger cafeteria space and more bathrooms for students. Bus and parent pick-up and drop-off locations will be rerouted for smoother transitions.
Hillcrest Elementary, which was over capacity by more than 50 students last year, will also get a makeover. The school will get two additions providing a new gym, art and music rooms, nine additional classrooms, a cafeteria and more storage.
At Pulaski High School, the Technology Education department is outgrowing its space. The woods, welding and engine labs will be renovated with additions to all three sections. There will be space added for auto lifts, machining and residential construction equipment.
For preliminary project plans, visit www.pulaskischools.org/business/projects.
As for the operational referendum, the district will be able to exceed its state imposed spending cap by $1.5 million for the 2023-24 school year and then by an additional $100,000 every year for the next five years.
What will that look like? For the 2024-25 school year, the district will be able to exceed its revenue limit by $1.6 million and $1.7 million for the following year, capping out at $1.9 million by 2027.
In total, the operational referendum will cost $8.5 million.
The district says this money will go to supporting increased staff salaries and benefits. The district approved the full 4.7% inflationary salary increase allowed by law this year in an attempt to keep its staff salaries competitive, the district said.
After the first two years, a portion of the increase in the revenue limit would go to fund staff and operational costs for new spaces built through the capital referendum. No more than a combined $200,000 a year would go to those expenditures.
In terms of taxes, last year's tax rate for the district was $6.32 per $1,000 fair market valuation of property. With the passage of both referendum questions, the rate will increase by $1.86 to $8.18 per $1,000 fair market valuation.
Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Voters approve Green Bay, Denmark and Pulaski schools' referendums
