“What the best and wisest parent wants for
his own child, that must the community
want for all its children” – John Dewey
STRONG SCHOOLS,
STRONG COMMUNITY
Agenda
•
•
•
•
Opening Remarks
Overview of District Needs
The Plan
Your Support
Overview of District Needs and
Other Considerations
Space
• Overcrowding
 HS built for 565, now houses 1120+ students
and enrollment continues
 Band room sized for 50-60 and band now
numbers 130+
 Lunches completed in “shifts”
 Forced to use non-traditional space, ie,
basement space
 52 year old pool, while losing 400-600
gal/day, does not meet SD or Community
needs
Space (con’t)
• Lacks flexible spaces that allow for
efficient multiple uses
• Current spaces are not accessible
to all ages and abilities
• Crowding creates a real safety issue in
the event of evacuation
Age of existing structures
• With exception of Northside, the
most recently constructed building
was the HS in 1965
• Most buildings are not handicap
accessible
• Several mechanical systems are
inefficient and/or failing
Capital Maintenance Costs
•
•
•
•
•
Unavoidable costs
Boilers
Pool
ADA compliance
Safety and security
Additional Key Points
• This problem has been studied for more
than 10 years by many Board members
and objective citizens
• Additional renovations to existing
buildings have been evaluated and
dismissed as not meeting the needs of the
District or not being cost effective
• The current proposal is a LONG TERM
solution
Additional Key Points (con’t)
• Due to state-imposed revenue limits, the
District cannot raise taxes without a
referendum to maintain existing
programming
• The District has managed the situation very
well and ranks lowest in the state in
spending/student
• The District has the LOWEST tax mill rate
among all School Districts in the region and
in the Badger Conference
Additional Key Points (con’t)
• The School Board has REDUCED the mill
rate for two consecutive years, while
student enrollment has reached an alltime high
• The District has demonstrated fiscal
responsibility time and time again and is
doing so again now as interest rates are at
a 60 year lows
Additional Key Points (con’t)
• Fort Atkinson saw an increase in home
values, business revenue, and business
development following their HS
construction project
• A very similar plan was developed in 2008
and not implemented, that plan now costs
$15-16M more
The Plan
• All accessibility issues in all schools would be improved (ADA
Compliance)
• Outdated mechanical structures that are failing would be
replaced
• Overcrowding is fixed by building a new high school, and
grade level configuration which include:
– New MHS next to the current one on district-owned land
(Grades 9-12) and replaces overcrowded pool and gym
– Old MHS becomes the new Milton Middle School (Grades 6-8)
– Northside Intermediate School (Grades 3-5)
– Four Elementary Schools (Grades PreK-2)
– Note: Pre-K sites would exist at each elementary school and the
district would still maintain community-based sites
The Plan (con’t)
• New HS would open fall of 2019 for the
2019/20 school year
• $87M requested in the referendum
• Spend and tax increase to be phased in
over a two year period
• $150k home would see a $15.50/mo in
year 1 and then increase to $22.17/mo in
year two
Your Support is Needed
• There has been much misinformation
shared to date and we need your help to
get the FACTS in front of the public
• We need:
– Your voice
– Your passion for this community
– Your vote
Specifically, you can
• Add us and like us on Facebook
• Visit our website and share content, testimonials, and
photographs
• Distribute fact sheets/yard signs
• Be positive, thoughtful and inspired by this project and the
future of our community
• Share the FACTS with everyone
• Contribute positive letters to the editor and sound-offs
• Help staff booths at community events
• Sign onto upcoming advertisements in local newspapers
• Donate time or, if able, money
• Want to be excluded? Just let us know
Questions?