WCSD 2023 Referendum

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow.

Winneconne Community School District (WCSD) residents will have the opportunity to vote on a facilities referendum question on April 4, 2023 to address District needs. The proposed plan addresses the most immediate needs at Winneconne Middle School and replaces and reconfigures the high school parking lot.

The District began Our Journey to the Future in 2012 with a planning process that identified facility needs; this led to Chapter 1 in 2016, a $12.5 million investment in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) addition and renovation and the construction of our state-of-the-art Winneconne Community Arts Center (WCAC). The first phase has positively impacted WCSD students and community members.

Now is the time to continue Our Journey with Chapter 2. In April of 2022, voters did not support a $47.8 million referendum to address safety and security and infrastructure district-wide, as well as expand and renovate Winneconne Middle School. The Winneconne Community School Board and administration acknowledge and respect this decision and have been working diligently to develop a solution that addresses the most immediate infrastructure and learning needs at the Middle School, and replaces and reconfigures the high school parking lot, which has exceeded its useful life.

Over the last 12 months, the District has sought feedback from a community-wide survey to prioritize its facility needs. The result is a plan that will provide updates our middle school to address our most pressing infrastructure needs in the District.

The proposed solution for a $28.3 million renovation at Winneconne Middle School would update the school to be “like new” within its existing footprint, as well as replace and reconfigure the Winneconne High School parking lot. This solution supports our endeavor for continuous improvement and helping each student reach their fullest potential.

Preliminary Plan

The District is asking voters to authorize $28.3 million for a facility improvement project that will address the most immediate needs of Winneconne’s facilities master plan:

Renovations at Winneconne Middle School to revitalize and add another 50 years of life to the building
- Replace panel wall system with permanent walls to create better building flow and efficiency
- Renovate kitchen, commons, and library
- Transition computer labs into large-group collaboration rooms
- Replace finishes which have exceeded their useful life
- Improve the learning environment for all students in grades 6-8
Infrastructure Improvements for aging building systems at the middle school
- Upgrade all building systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, and bell)
- Replace flooring, ceilings, and doors (as needed)
- Address Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) non-compliance

Replacement and reconfiguration of the high school parking lot to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety

WHY NOW?

Our facility needs, which cannot be addressed within the annual operating budget, are not going away.

Addressing Our Priorities
- Our middle school building is failing us. The major building systems continue to deteriorate, and the District is unable to get replacement parts for the propriety system used when it was originally built.
- A proprietary wall system and inefficient building layout make the building expensive to operate, difficult to navigate, and challenging to maintain.
- To improve safety and traffic flow, the Winneconne High School parking lot needs to be replaced and reconfigured.
- The plan includes needs that were prioritized based on staff and community feedback.
Minimizing Tax Impact
- Since the April 2022 referendum, the Board has reduced the scope of proposed work by $19.5 million. This reduces the estimated tax impact of the middle school investment by over $100 per $100,000 of property value.
- We have actively refinanced and planned to prepay debt related to prior facility investments to reduce interest cost. At this time, only debt related to the 2016 referendum remains outstanding.
- The new 2023 referendum debt will be repaid as the existing payments are reduced. This plan will minimize the increase in the tax for debt to $29 per $100,000 of property value.

Referendum Question

Official Language: Question: Shall the Winneconne Community School District, Winnebago and Waushara Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $28,300,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school facility improvement project consisting of: renovations, infrastructure and capital maintenance replacement, safety and security improvements, accessibility updates and site improvements at Winneconne Middle School, and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment; and reconstruction of the Winneconne High School parking lot?

For voting information, please click here. (create link to the Voting Information subpage)

The Investment

Our needs cannot be addressed within the annual operating budget. Therefore, the District has to ask taxpayers permission to borrow money to cover the cost of the proposed project.

Referendum Amount = $28,300,000
Max Mill Rate Impact = $0.29 per $1,000 valuation (over projected 2022-23*)

Referendum Comparison

referendum comparison

Learn More

Join us at one of our Referendum Info Nights or Coffee and Questions events to get your referendum questions answered!

Questions? Comments?

If you have questions or comments about the proposed referendum, you can contact District Administrator Peg Larson at (920) 582-5802 ext. 3141 or larsonm@w-csd.org.