OOSTBURG, WI (WHBL) - This evening will be the first of two open house events at the Oostburg Elementary School as the district plans to run a referendum vote during next month’s spring primary elections. It's part of the district's efforts to make sure people are aware that this vote will be taking place on February 16.
Superintendent Kevin Bruggink says this referendum has been a long process. “It started back in 2012, and we took the community survey approach.” Working with School Perceptions, they wanted to get feedback from the entire community, whether they have students in the district or not. They surveyed academics, communication, financials, and facilities.
As a result, the facility needs focused from where the district stood following their last project in 2008. Originally, they wanted to do work on the high school building, but the impact of the Great Recession and the community survey showed that the public wanted work done on the elementary building. “We have a growing student population there," says Bruggink. "That, along with the infrastructure needs and the age of the building, and the design of the building, all kind of brought up together to where we are.”
The project itself would focus on the 1956 portion of the school building, the oldest part of the building. “Should it gain support there would be a phased in approach where a new wing would be added that would be part of a new addition. Then the next phase would be removing the 1956 wing, where we have most of our infrastructure issues, completing a wing on top of that section. Ideally that would take care of many of the needs that we have for the foreseeable future.”
Several areas need to be corrected in the building. Bruggink says a key one is the space at the school, due to the increase in the student population including 80 new students this school year alone. “We’re using a lot of spaces that weren’t designed for educational spaces, whether its closets or converted bathrooms and restrooms, and so on and so forth.” Also in need of more space is food service.
There is also the issue with the design of this portion of the building, given how it was built back in the 1950s and includes the original boilers and steam tunnels. “Our long range planning committee looked at multiple different options including renovation, and really felt like this was the direction we needed to go.”
Cost for the referendum is 9.59-million dollars, to be paid with a 20 year loan. Bruggink says the timing fits for the district since some of the current debt will be paid off by the end of next school year. The increase in the 2016-17 school year will be about 25-cents per thousand on the mill rate if it passes.
Some may wonder - why run this referendum in February? Bruggink says it will have the smallest impact on the education at the school. “When you look at the phased approach of our construction project; when we look at having some existing space that we’re obviously using, what is the most reasonable way to move forward? For us, moving back to an April referendum has some educational drawbacks. Three months later means we’re going to impact the school year pretty significantly. This approach would impact the end and the beginning of a school year rather than right dead heart in the middle.” Also, the earlier date will mean less enclosure costs if the work has to be done in the winter. In addition, doing it sooner will mean less costs for construction.
Spreading the word about the referendum has been a key focus for the district. The district’s website has detailed information, including videos of the structure and educational problems at the building. Local residents can also see it themselves with open house events. Bruggink and other district officials are also traveling across the district to meet with people who are interested in learning more about the referendum. “Any group’s that’s interested or individual, I’m more than happy to reach out, meet with them, and answer their questions.”
While he is required not to take a yes or no stance on the referendum, Bruggink reminds district residents that the surveys taken in recent years show that this is a plan they would approve spending more tax dollars on. “The surveys have been very clean in directing our path. So we don’t want this to feel like people are being pressured or this is a sales pitch. For us, this is about giving information, sharing the feedback that we’ve received from the community, and how we’re trying to act on that feedback.”
If the referendum passes, Bruggink says the timeline for construction will be to start building the new addition in the fall. Once that is complete, classes will move into that part of the building as the 1956 wing is demolished. That is expected in the spring, followed by the construction of a new section over the summer. All the work should be complete by October of 2017.
If the referendum does not pass, Bruggink says the likely approach will be to consider what improvements to the building can be done to keep it viable until another construction project and referendum is set.
More information on the referendum can be found by clicking here: Oostburg Referendum