Clintonville seeks input for future referendum
By Bert Lehman
The Clintonville School Board approved moving forward with a survey of district residents for input regarding future improvements to school facilities.
At its March 9 meeting, the board also approved the questions on the survey.
“This is not the end all, be all. The survey is not the resolution for referendum, said Superintendent David Dyb. “This gives us feedback, gives the board guidance on moving in the direction they feel best fits the district.”
While discussing the approval of the survey questions, Clintonville School Board President Ben Huber told the members of the council that approving the questions in the survey does not mean the board is approving a particular plan. He added that if a lot of residents indicate they do not like the plan being presented, it allows the board to go back to the drawing board.
“We are in the fortunate position where we have a fair amount of time before the referendum debt on the high school is fully done, so we have wiggle room,” Huber said. “If this comes back as an absolute ‘no,’ we go back through the process and reconfigure and rethink. If it comes back as ‘Oh my gosh, this thing is going to pass because this is what people want,’ then we can do that. If it’s somewhere in the middle, which is where I’m guessing it’s going to be, we’ll have more discussions.”
Dyb added, “We can’t ask everything, but I think it at least gives us enough information to ask the community what their thoughts are in regards to a base plan and additional projects that we’re looking at.”
District’s base plan
According to the survey, the base plan would, “renovate the current middle school into an elementary school to serve students in pre-K through 5th grade. The project would add age-appropriate amenities, a playground, and improve safety, lighting, interior finishes, traffic flow, and parking.”
The base plan would also include, “Construct a wing at the high school to serve students in 6th-8th grade. This building would function as two schools under one roof. Both the middle school and high school would have a separate entrance. This configuration will also make it easier for middle school students to access high-level classes and better utilize staff.”
The survey also indicated that the base plan would enhance technical education (shop) classrooms and labs, as well as improve site safety, traffic and parking.
Possible $37 million referendum
The funding needed to support the base plan would be $37 million.
One of the survey questions asks district residents if they would support a $37 million referendum, which would include an estimated property tax increase “of $73 for each $100,000 of a home’s value over the current level.”
Board Treasurer Kris Strauman said that zero tax impact was stressed from the beginning of the discussions, but none of the plans presented in the survey represent zero tax impact.
Dyb said if the district presented it that way, it would have no place to make plan modifications.
“I would say, ‘yes,’” Strauman said, “but then I would also say that, ‘are we deceiving people by the very first page by saying by 2022 our debt portion is going to be reduced, and then, here’s our plan?’” Strauman said. “I brought this up at the meeting, our base plan is still going to raise taxes.”
She added, “I just want to be transparent. I don’t want to lie to the community and to the people that are voting. I just can’t do that. And I can’t support it if we’re pulling the wool over their eyes.”
The survey also included questions about projects not in the base plan.
One question asks residents if they would support a plan that would provide funding to expand the Community Rec Center that is part of the current high school building. The estimated cost of this expansion would be $1.9 million.
Another question asks residents if they would support a plan to provide funding to update the outdoor athletic fields, including the addition of artificial turf. The estimated cost of these improvements would be $1.4 million.
A third question asks residents it they would support a plan to provide funding to expand the Dellwood Early Learning Center to serve the four-year-old kindergarten program. The estimated cost would be $3.4 million.
A fourth question asks residents if they would support a plan that provided funding to update major building systems. The estimated cost of this this plan would be $5.3 million.
How much of a tax impact residents would deem as acceptable is also asked in the survey. This ranges from $73 per year per $100,000 of a home’s value over the current level to $165 per year if the base plan and all the other projects were approved.
Operating referendum
One final question asks residents, “Would you help the District maintain current programs and services by supporting a $500,000 operating referendum for each of the next five years?” This would represent “an estimated average annual tax increase of $55 for each $100,000 of a home’s value.”
The board approved moving forward with the survey questions as presented by a vote of 6-1. Strauman voted no.
Dyb told the council that the district should receive the results back by early May. Residents will start receiving the surveys in the mail around April 1. Reponses are due back by April 20.
The district anticipates approximately 30% of the its residents will complete the survey, Dyb said.