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Thank you, voters! District residents have approved our facilities referendum by an unofficial margin of 2,562 yes votes to 1,851 no votes. This is a huge opportunity for our students, staff, and the community at large. Additional information regarding the next steps will be available in the coming weeks.
On behalf of our SDNR students, staff, and community, thank you for your support.
Facilities Referendum 2024
Did You Know?
On January 15, 2024, the School Board adopted a resolution to hold a referendum to address facility needs, based on the recommendation of the Facility Task Force. The vote will be on April 2, 2024.
Why Now?
The Board of Education chose to Form the Community Facility Committee Because:
In the past 10 years, the enrollment has grown nearly 10%.
Elementary Schools are near or at capacity.
Starr Elementary (originally built in 1965), the Middle School (originally built in 1959), and Paperjack Elementary (originally built in 1991) represent our oldest facilities.
Our buildings have received some updates in the past, but there is not sufficient funding to address all maintenance needs.
Referendum debt from the last bond is maturing, which creates some tax capacity to make projects more affordable to our taxpayers.
In addition, the District knows that interest rates and construction costs continue to climb so borrowing money now will be more cost effective than in the future.
The Process
How was the Facility Plan Developed?
The District formed a 47-person Community Task Force comprised of 4 students, 8 community members, 12 staff members, and 23 parents. This Task Force met 6 times for 2 hours each time and toured each of the current buildings to form recommendations, spending over 400 hours touring our facilities!
The Needs Identified by the Community Facility Committee can be Summarized As:
We need to address building capacity for our growing enrollment.
We need to invest in continued maintenance of our facilities.
We need to create appropriate learning environments to adequately meet the needs of our students and staff.
Summary of Survey Results
School Perceptions conducted a survey to engage our community as a whole in this discussion. The results of the survey showed:
There was good support overall to pursue a referendum to add capacity and update our schools.
Staff and parents support keeping our grade configuration the same.
Remodeling our older buildings instead of replacing them were favored by the community.
Survey results showed a tax capacity of the community to be between $100 million and $125 million.
On a scale of 1-10, we scored a 7.55 when asked if you would recommend the District to a friend or family member. This result puts us in the 72nd percentile of all Districts in Wisconsin.
Your Voice Was Heard!
Your critical feedback is reflected in the referendum plan! Thank you for having confidence in our District.
Note: Total Cost includes contingency, construction escalation, owner and financing costs.
Tax Impact
What is the Tax Impact?
The School District of New Richmond takes pride in being fiscally conservative when it comes to district financial management. The District is the 14th lowest spending per student in the state and works to stretch every dollar.
Property Tax Mill Rate
Property Tax Mill is the rate at which your property is taxed.
Since the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the District's mill rate has decreased 33%.
The mill rate is $3.92 lower per $1,000 than 10 years ago.
Financial Calculator
Directions: Enter your Fair Market Value (no commas, ex. 150000) and click on Calculate to see your tax estimates.
Estimated Tax Impact
The estimated tax impact is broken down to show annual and monthly costs.
The chart shows a conservative estimate of the upper end of the tax impact.
On a $250,000 home, the monthly cost of the referendum would be $9.38.
The last referendum was in 2007 for the design and construction of the High School, Hillside Elementary, land acquisition, conversion of the old high school to be a middle school, and minor remodeling of West (Starr) Elementary. The approved amount was $92,850,000.
A community task force (composed of 23 parents, 8 community members, 12 staff members, and 4 students) was formed to study the School District's needs. The task force met multiple times from May 2023 to December 2023. In addition, the District commissioned a community-wide survey to engage the broader community on the needs. Ultimately, the community task force provided a recommendation to the School Board that reflected their priorities and incorporated the survey feedback.
In the past 10 years, the enrollment has grown nearly 10%.
Elementary Schools are currently very full (buildings are at or near capacity).
Starr Elementary (originally built 1965), the Middle School (originally built 1959), and Paperjack Elementary (originally built 1991) represent our oldest facilities. There is not sufficient funding to address all maintenance needs.
Referendum debt from the last bond is maturing which creates some tax capacity to make projects more affordable to our taxpayers.
Interest rates and construction costs continue to climb, so borrowing money now will be more cost effective than in the future.
There was good support overall to pursue a referendum to add capacity and update our schools.
Staff and parents support keeping our grade configuration the same.
Remodeling our older buildings instead of replacing them was favored by the community.
Survey results showed the tax capacity of the community to be between $100 million and $125 million.
On a scale of 1-10, we scored a 7.55 when asked if we would recommend the District to a friend or family member. This result puts us in the 72 percentile of all Districts in Wisconsin.
INITIAL RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $113,700,000 BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the School District of New Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin that there shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $113,700,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of additions and renovations at Starr and Paperjack Elementary Schools and the Middle School; district-wide safety and capacity, building infrastructure and site improvements; and acquisition of associated furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
If the referendum passes, we will launch design teams (made up of administrators, teachers, and students) to assist in the design process. While we have established a basic scope and budget, the input of our community will be vital to make sure all the details of the project will serve us well. Once the design is complete, the projects will be publicly bid and following that, construction will begin.
The community task force debated this topic at length. Ultimately, they recommended the addition/remodeling of our facilities because the cost to build new was too high, according to the data collected from our community-wide survey results. The Board of Education agreed with this plan to be respectful of the taxpayer and keep the overall tax impact as low as possible.
We have been working to reduce the District's property tax mill rate. This rate has dropped nearly 33% compared to the 2014-2015 level. We remain one of the lowest (14th) spending-per-student districts in the state.
The referendum cost is $113,700,000. Of that, $107,100,000 is allocated to the additions/remodels of Starr Elementary, Paperjack Elementary, and the Middle School. The remaining will be allocated to District-Wide projects.
By law, the resolution question is legally binding and includes the phrase "not to exceed." The project scope defined in the ballot language cannot exceed $113,700,000.
These are critical needs that will still need to be addressed. If the referendum does not pass, we will engage the community on why there was not enough support, and then make a plan to fit the community's wishes.
The referendum election is on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. To vote in Wisconsin, youmust first register to vote. You can start the registration process online at https://myvote.wi.gov. You can also register in person at your local municipal clerk’s office, with a special registration deputy, or at the polling place on election day.
Additional resources including information about the need, the plan, and voting information can be found on this website. Make sure to continue visiting our referendum webpage as we will update it with any additional information as it becomes available.
The last referendum was in 2007 for the design and construction of the High School, Hillside Elementary, land acquisition, conversion of the old high school to be a middle school, and minor remodeling of West (Starr) Elementary. The approved amount was $92,850,000.
A community task force (composed of 23 parents, 8 community members, 12 staff members, and 4 students) was formed to study the School District's needs. The task force met multiple times from May 2023 to December 2023. In addition, the District commissioned a community-wide survey to engage the broader community on the needs. Ultimately, the community task force provided a recommendation to the School Board that reflected their priorities and incorporated the survey feedback.
In the past 10 years, the enrollment has grown nearly 10%.
Elementary Schools are currently very full (buildings are at or near capacity).
Starr Elementary (originally built 1965), the Middle School (originally built 1959), and Paperjack Elementary (originally built 1991) represent our oldest facilities. There is not sufficient funding to address all maintenance needs.
Referendum debt from the last bond is maturing which creates some tax capacity to make projects more affordable to our taxpayers.
Interest rates and construction costs continue to climb, so borrowing money now will be more cost effective than in the future.
There was good support overall to pursue a referendum to add capacity and update our schools.
Staff and parents support keeping our grade configuration the same.
Remodeling our older buildings instead of replacing them was favored by the community.
Survey results showed the tax capacity of the community to be between $100 million and $125 million.
On a scale of 1-10, we scored a 7.55 when asked if we would recommend the District to a friend or family member. This result puts us in the 72 percentile of all Districts in Wisconsin.
INITIAL RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $113,700,000 BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the School District of New Richmond, St. Croix County, Wisconsin that there shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $113,700,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of additions and renovations at Starr and Paperjack Elementary Schools and the Middle School; district-wide safety and capacity, building infrastructure and site improvements; and acquisition of associated furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
If the referendum passes, we will launch design teams (made up of administrators, teachers, and students) to assist in the design process. While we have established a basic scope and budget, the input of our community will be vital to make sure all the details of the project will serve us well. Once the design is complete, the projects will be publicly bid and following that, construction will begin.
The community task force debated this topic at length. Ultimately, they recommended the addition/remodeling of our facilities because the cost to build new was too high, according to the data collected from our community-wide survey results. The Board of Education agreed with this plan to be respectful of the taxpayer and keep the overall tax impact as low as possible.
We have been working to reduce the District's property tax mill rate. This rate has dropped nearly 33% compared to the 2014-2015 level. We remain one of the lowest (14th) spending-per-student districts in the state.
The referendum cost is $113,700,000. Of that, $107,100,000 is allocated to the additions/remodels of Starr Elementary, Paperjack Elementary, and the Middle School. The remaining will be allocated to District-Wide projects.
By law, the resolution question is legally binding and includes the phrase "not to exceed." The project scope defined in the ballot language cannot exceed $113,700,000.
These are critical needs that will still need to be addressed. If the referendum does not pass, we will engage the community on why there was not enough support, and then make a plan to fit the community's wishes.
The referendum election is on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. To vote in Wisconsin, you must first register to vote. You can start the registration process online at https://myvote.wi.gov. You can also register in person at your local municipal clerk’s office, with a special registration deputy, or at the polling place on election day.
Additional resources including information about the need, the plan, and voting information can be found on this website. Make sure to continue visiting our referendum webpage as we will update it with any additional information as it becomes available.
When and How to Vote
The referendum election is on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. To vote in Wisconsin, you must first register to vote. You can start the registration process online at https://myvote.wi.gov. You can also register in person at your local municipal clerk's office, with a special registration deputy, or at the polling place on election day.
