Community Referendum

Shall the Wilmot Union High School District, Kenosha County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $22,900,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project at the High School and Panther Sports Complex consisting of: classroom modernization; renovations, including for technical and family and consumer sciences education; renovations for new community daycare center; district-wide safety and security improvements, capital maintenance, building infrastructure and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?

District leadership commissioned Nexus Solutions to conduct a facility assessment. Then, the community was surveyed to determine educational priorities. Results were discussed over the course of several meetings, and specific projects were selected based on priority and community feedback. 

The Wilmot Union High School District is asking voters to vote on a facility (bond) referendum on April 1, 2025. 

The difference between an operating referendum and a facility (bond) referendum lies in their purpose and how the funds are used:

• Operating Referendum

  • Purpose: Focused on supporting the ongoing operational costs of a school district. This includes funding for: Teacher salaries and benefits, classroom supplies, utility costs (electricity, heating, etc.), technology and curriculum updates, etc

  • Duration: Often limited to a specific time period (e.g., 3-5 years) but can sometimes be recurring.

  • Impact: It increases the district's revenue limit temporarily or permanently, allowing the district to fund day-to-day expenses.

• Facility (Bond) Referendum

  • Purpose: Geared toward funding large-scale, one-time capital improvement projects or facility upgrades. This includes: Renovating or expanding existing buildings, addressing safety/security improvements, replacing outdated infrastructure (e.g.,HVAC systems, roofs, floors), etc.

  • Duration: Requires the school district to issue bonds, which are repaid over time (typically 10-20 years) with interest.

  • Impact: Results in long-term borrowing (maximum of 20 years) to finance construction or renovation, repaid by local property taxes.

We are paying off our final debt payment this year. Next year, property taxes will drop. The board of education has elected to ask for the referendum in April because the community can pass it and still see taxes decrease substantially. If the district were to wait a year or longer, an approved referendum would result in a property tax increase.

Additionally, the District has selected projects that are either overdue or need to be accomplished as soon as possible. So, these needs exist today, they will not go away, and only get more expensive due to inflation and potentially higher interest rates.  

The needs fall into three categories:

• #1 - Modern Learning Environments
• #2 - Safety & Security Improvements
• #3 - Building & Site Infrastructure

Please visit this link to view the facility referendum project list. 

The District has faced difficult financial challenges in the past few years due to record high inflation and reduced revenue as a result of chronically declining enrollment. As a result of a couple of recently failed operating referendums, substantial cuts have been made which included nearly 30 positions. Our budget has been balanced, but there is little money available to invest into the facility. All Wisconsin schools are in the same financial situation, because the state funding formula does not provide enough money to accomplish these types of projects, meaning all Wisconsin districts must ask the public for approval of funds for significant capital improvement projects.

7. What will the Referendum investment cost me?

The facility referendum is projected to cost approximately $47 per $100,000 of 2025 property value each year for 20 years. However, this would still result in a net approximate reduction in taxes of $49 per $100,000 of property value due to our debt being paid off this year. .

If voters approve the referendum, taxes will still drop.

The project will be funded by the issuance of General Obligation bonds, which is the standard process followed by all districts statewide.

No, since Wilmot is aided negatively at the tertiary level, no additional state aid would be expected.

In the summer of 2023, Nexus Solutions conducted a comprehensive facility analysis to determine short and long-term facility needs. The board of education discussed the report and potential facility improvement measures during several meetings over the last year and a half. Most of the measures needed are updates while a handful were included based on community feedback and to keep the district competitive with neighboring school districts. 

Nexus Solutions is a professional services firm that specializes in public K12 facility renovation and construction, mainly in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Since 2012, they have worked with many of Wilmot’s neighboring districts, including a 2013-14 project at Wilmot Union High School itself which was completed on-time and on-budget.

Nexus Solutions is highly-experienced in developing K12 facility improvement projects, and they have access to a large volume of data on similar area projects. As a result, they are quite adept at determining realistic budgets that include all costs associated with typical facility improvement measures.

WUHS and Nexus identify qualified area contractors who are then issued identical plans and specifications on which they are invited to bid. The money from projects that come in under budget is returned to the District to be applied to other approved project work. Over budget projects are redesigned at Nexus’ expense to get the project back within budget.

If the community does not approve the referendum, needed improvements will continue to be delayed and will cost taxpayers more in the future. From a competitive standpoint, Wilmot Union High School will fall behind neighboring districts whose communities have invested in school facility improvements.  

School funding has fallen far behind inflation for many years resulting in significant financial challenges for the majority of school districts in Wisconsin, including Wilmot Union High School. 

The amount of money for which school districts can levy is capped by the revenue limit. Our annual budget simply isn’t large enough to pay for these projects, nor was it intended to be, and the State determined that public referendums are required for such capital improvement projects. 

If the referendum passes, the projects will be designed from April – October, 2025. Construction will take place during the summers of 2026 and 2027, with the goal of being substantially complete by the start of the 2027-28 school year. Of course, we will take advantage of any work that can be done during the school year(s) as long as it doesn't negatively impact education.

Please feel welcome to contact Dr. Michael Plourde, District Administrator, at plourdem@wilmoths.k12.wi.us or (262) 862-9006 with any questions. 

Please visit https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Find-My-Polling-Place for more information about voting. 

Yes, several of the projects will result in cost savings for the district. 

Our fields are terribly wet in the spring. We have lost many home games because our infields are constantly under water from spring weather. Badger, Westosha Central and all 3 Kenosha public schools have added turf to their varsity baseball and softball fields in the spring, and as a result they have had minimal cancellations to their games. We find ourselves calling those schools to make up our games. On top of being able to play their games as scheduled, those schools also are able to hold practices on a daily basis in the spring. If you look at this spring as an example, you can find people on those turf fields practicing right now, where we are probably still a few weeks away from even practicing on our fields. On average we lose 10 home games a year to play games on turf fields, or combine our games to play doubleheaders, which then brings around safety issues with our athletes arms. 

Adding turf, while an investment to our athletes and community, is still an expense. That is why the board decided to only ask for two in this referendum. Synthetic turf will reduce the maintenance costs of maintaining grass, however we do know that —  due to wear and tear turf  — lasts about 10-20 years so it will need to be revisited in the future.