Here’s what to know about the proposed $8.5 million Arrowhead Union High School District referendum – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Arrowhead High School(Photo: Bob Dohr / Now News Group)

When voters head to the polls on Nov. 3, in addition to deciding on the next U.S. president, voters in the Arrowhead Union High School District will also have to decidewhether to approve a $1.7 million per year referendum.

Here's what voters should know before going to the polls:

If approved, the referendum would address only the highest prioritized needs of technology, facility and site infrastructure improvements.

What it would do: Specifically, the referendum would replace the oldest, leaking areas of roofing; replaceand repairthe most aging air handling units for heating and air conditioning; updatetechnology infrastructure for safety and up-to-date usage; updateor repairsome building structures; repair or replacesome parking lots/roadways and improvesome stormwater management systems, according to information on the district website.

What it would not do: The district said the referendum wouldnot fix all ongoing infrastructure updates and repairs; would not pay for operating costs, including utilities, supplies, employee compensation, programs or services for students; would not add new structures such as new building/storage additions, new theater, new pool or new athletic facilities and would not provide major classroom or instructional upgrades.

The referendum carries a tax impact of 25 cents per $1,000 of property value,which the district said would maintain the 1999 referendum debt payment amount for another five years.

A homeowner with a $300,000 home would pay $75 per year toward the referendum. That is justpart of the total tax rate for the school district, however.

If the referendum passes,the school district tax rate is expected to be $2.91 per $1,000 of property value for the 2020-21 school year.

If the referendum does not pass, the 2020-21 school year tax rate is expected to be $2.66 per $1,000 of property value.

The 2019-20 tax rate was $2.88 per $1,000; in 2018-19, it was $3.07 per $1,000.

Arrowhead Superintendent Laura Myrah said the district's 2020-21 budget has not been finalized yet because the statehas not yet released final aid amounts to schools. She said the state must do so,by law, by Oct.15.Myrah said the district will then make any adjustments to its budget for the Arrowhead School Board to review and then approve at the end of October.

Since the district's voters lastpassed a referendum in 1999, the school's basic building, site and technology infrastructure has aged and become outdated, according to the district.

In the last 12 years, the district has completed $16.4 million in capital projects from its operating budget, an average of about $1.4 million per year. As district funding from state and federal sources decreases, the district said itcannot continue to pay for the increasing number of necessary infrastructure improvements without directly affecting the budget allocated to instructional programs and services for students.

Arrowhead's 1999 referendum was for 20 years with a $1.7 million repayment expense per year;the last payment on that loan was made in March. If this referendum passes, the district would extend the payments, leaving no long-term debt and no interest payments.

The district also said its costs have been increasing for expenses such as health insurance, transportation/busing, utilities, liability/workers' compensation insurance and textbooks. At the same time, the district said revenue from the statehas been decreasing, based primarily on declining student enrollment.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, school district revenue limits are established based on three factors: enrollment, an inflationary increment and each district's prior year controlled revenue.

The district has taken on numerous strategies in an attempt to balance the budget, including: deferringfacility infrastructure and capital improvement projects; sharing services with other districts, such as health insurance and busing; reducing faculty and support staff and increasingclass sizes; reducing staff benefits; maintainingfewer administrator positions than the regional average; continuingcompetitive bidding for projects over $15,000; implementing energy savings strategies; freezing classroom/department/co-curricular budgets; solicitingdonations; increasing fees for parking and co-curricular participation and enhancing marketing strategies to increase student enrollment.

The most recent referendum question voters decided on was in April 2017. That year, voters turned down a $36.68 million referendum that would have been used for campus maintenance improvements and upgrades in instructional areas.

In November 2016, voters turned down a $64.7 million referendum that would have paid for classroom and instructional renovations, as well as a new swimming pool and expanded auditorium.

ContactAlec Johnson at(262) 875-9469 oralec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

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Here's what to know about the proposed $8.5 million Arrowhead Union High School District referendum - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel