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Now it's voters turn
Decision on school referendum issues comes Tuesday

By HEATHER CLARK
Special to The Gazette
With the school building referendum the only local issue on the ballot Tuesday, Stevens Point Area Public School District officials are expecting a low voter turnout.

But they believe that could be to their advantage.

"We're not getting the negative responses we have in the past," Superintendent Emery Babcock said. "But it's very quiet out there. It may be a good sign, it may not. It's hard to read."

If lawn signs are any indication, the referendum will pass. Many "vote yes" signs have popped up on property across the district; few "vote no" signs have.

The school district is asking residents to vote on two questions totaling about $57 million.

The first asks to authorize the district to borrow $54 million for construction, remodeling and additions to all district schools. Included in that is about $27 million to build a 20-classroom addition to Stevens Point Area Senior High School and about $2 million to raze the existing Emerson School building and construct a new one at the same site. Kindergarten classroom additions and maintenance issues such as new plumbing are included for nearly all the buildings.

The second question will ask residents to authorize the district to exceed revenue caps annually by about $2.97 million to maintain academic programs, upgrade and maintain facilities, purchase textbooks and for additional custodial staff.

Should the referendum pass, four projects have been targeted for a kind of first phase: SPASH classroom additions, Roosevelt Elementary School classroom additions, McDill Elementary School classroom additions, and the Alternative High School.

Other projects' priority will be determined by the School Board at a later date, with outside projects like the Madison Elementary School gymnasium probably taking precedent, Babcock said.

An approved referendum would result in a school tax rate of $9.43 per $1,000 equalized valuation, down 18 cents per $1,000 from last year.

The referendum, if passed, does not preclude the district from building a second high school in the future. Officials anticipate the referendum holding the district for 10 to 15 years, but the second high school issue could come up in the next decade, Babcock said.

"A lot depends on where we are nine, 10 years from now and seeing where we are with enrollment and facility needs," he said.

Enrollment has been dropping the past few years, with 122 fewer students attending public schools this year compared to last. That's been an area of contention with some residents, but Babcock says the enrollment has leveled off at the kindergarten level "so we think the slide has stopped."

Babcock also said that spreading 122 kids across the district amounts to a loss of about one child per class, which doesn't warrant reducing teachers.

Should the referendum fail, Babcock said the district would be looking at some financial constraints and potential facilities problems. For example, the Alternative High School may be shut down and the program moved to another site if the district decides not to replace the boiler because the rest of the building is falling apart.

"If the referendum fails, there will still be inequities in the schools, we'll continue to have a drain on our maintenance and we'll continue to struggle with no upgrades in equipment," Babcock said.

The district expects about a $1.3 million budget deficit next year, at the highest, Babcock said. The district could save roughly $2 million just by reducing the number of class periods at the junior high schools from eight to seven and cutting back on the number of courses high school students are allowed to take.

Should that be the outcome, programs under the ax include music, band, foreign language, art, technology and computer classes at the junior high school level and those courses plus family consumer education classes at the high school, Babcock said.

Other measures being discussed include dropping the number of graduation requirements, slashing about 21 teaching positions to save $743,000, cutting $100,000 in administration, reducing the number of educational assistants to save $200,000 and cutting about $50,000 from the athletic budget.

"It's not very positive, it's not very bright," Babcock said.

Specific classes pegged for elimination have not been identified yet. And the board has not determined how the athletic budget would be reduced, whether it would come from one program or be divided between all the programs. (Ironically, Babcock said, there have been requests to add athletic programs: girls golf and girls soccer at the ninth-grade level.)

Those types of decisions would come nearly right away since students begin registering for next year's classes in November, the board has said.

Here are some other questions that have come up in the community and their answers:

Q: Is there money for salaries, teachers and administrators included?

A: No. The money includes salaries only for additional custodial staff needed due to the additions.

Q: Why haven't you been able to keep up maintenance?

A: The maintenance budget is trying to keep up with general maintenance items like cleaning floors, Babcock said. But as buildings get older, items need to be replaced, like roofing and windows.

"We can't save up and take out of an account for this," he said. "It's the buildings that are getting older that are hitting us all at once."

Of the district's 15 school buildings, Bannach Elementary is the only one under 10 years old, built in 1992. There are six buildings that are 25 to 35 years old. Six more buildings are about 40 to 50 years old. The remaining two are more than 60 years old: Emerson, 77, and P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, 63.

On top of that, of the 14 additions to 10 buildings, three are 30 to 40 years old. The remaining additions are 11 years old or younger with five younger than 5.



	Now it's voters turn Decision on school referendum issues comes Tuesday By HEATHER CLARK Special to The Gazette With the school building referendum the only local issue on the ballot Tuesday, Stevens Point Area Public School District officials are expecting a low voter turnout. But they believe that could be to their advantage. "We're not getting the negative responses we have in the past," Superintendent Emery Babcock said. "But it's very quiet out there. It may be a good sign, it may not. It's hard to read." If lawn signs are any indication, the referendum will pass. Many "vote yes" signs have popped up on property across the district; few "vote no" signs have. The school district is asking residents to vote on two questions totaling about $57 million. The first asks to authorize the district to borrow $54 million for construction, remodeling and additions to all district schools. Included in that is about $27 million to build a 20-classroom addition to Stevens Point Area Senior High School and about $2 million to raze the existing Emerson School building and construct a new one at the same site. Kindergarten classroom additions and maintenance issues such as new plumbing are included for nearly all the buildings. The second question will ask residents to authorize the district to exceed revenue caps annually by about $2.97 million to maintain academic programs, upgrade and maintain facilities, purchase textbooks and for additional custodial staff. Should the referendum pass, four projects have been targeted for a kind of first phase: SPASH classroom additions, Roosevelt Elementary School classroom additions, McDill Elementary School classroom additions, and the Alternative High School. Other projects' priority will be determined by the School Board at a later date, with outside projects like the Madison Elementary School gymnasium probably taking precedent, Babcock said. An approved referendum would result in a school tax rate of $9.43 per $1,000 equalized valuation, down 18 cents per $1,000 from last year. The referendum, if passed, does not preclude the district from building a second high school in the future. Officials anticipate the referendum holding the district for 10 to 15 years, but the second high school issue could come up in the next decade, Babcock said. "A lot depends on where we are nine, 10 years from now and seeing where we are with enrollment and facility needs," he said. Enrollment has been dropping the past few years, with 122 fewer students attending public schools this year compared to last. That's been an area of contention with some residents, but Babcock says the enrollment has leveled off at the kindergarten level "so we think the slide has stopped." Babcock also said that spreading 122 kids across the district amounts to a loss of about one child per class, which doesn't warrant reducing teachers. Should the referendum fail, Babcock said the district would be looking at some financial constraints and potential facilities problems. For example, the Alternative High School may be shut down and the program moved to another site if the district decides not to replace the boiler because the rest of the building is falling apart. "If the referendum fails, there will still be inequities in the schools, we'll continue to have a drain on our maintenance and we'll continue to struggle with no upgrades in equipment," Babcock said. The district expects about a $1.3 million budget deficit next year, at the highest, Babcock said. The district could save roughly $2 million just by reducing the number of class periods at the junior high schools from eight to seven and cutting back on the number of courses high school students are allowed to take. Should that be the outcome, programs under the ax include music, band, foreign language, art, technology and computer classes at the junior high school level and those courses plus family consumer education classes at the high school, Babcock said. Other measures being discussed include dropping the number of graduation requirements, slashing about 21 teaching positions to save $743,000, cutting $100,000 in administration, reducing the number of educational assistants to save $200,000 and cutting about $50,000 from the athletic budget. "It's not very positive, it's not very bright," Babcock said. Specific classes pegged for elimination have not been identified yet. And the board has not determined how the athletic budget would be reduced, whether it would come from one program or be divided between all the programs. (Ironically, Babcock said, there have been requests to add athletic programs: girls golf and girls soccer at the ninth-grade level.) Those types of decisions would come nearly right away since students begin registering for next year's classes in November, the board has said. Here are some other questions that have come up in the community and their answers: Q: Is there money for salaries, teachers and administrators included? A: No. The money includes salaries only for additional custodial staff needed due to the additions. Q: Why haven't you been able to keep up maintenance? A: The maintenance budget is trying to keep up with general maintenance items like cleaning floors, Babcock said. But as buildings get older, items need to be replaced, like roofing and windows. "We can't save up and take out of an account for this," he said. "It's the buildings that are getting older that are hitting us all at once." Of the district's 15 school buildings, Bannach Elementary is the only one under 10 years old, built in 1992. There are six buildings that are 25 to 35 years old. Six more buildings are about 40 to 50 years old. The remaining two are more than 60 years old: Emerson, 77, and P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, 63. On top of that, of the 14 additions to 10 buildings, three are 30 to 40 years old. The remaining additions are 11 years old or younger with five younger than 5.