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What’s in New London’s $13 million schools referendum

Many projects proposed

By Scott Bellile


School District of New London taxpayers have less than three weeks to decide how they will vote on a $13 million referendum to improve facility conditions, energy efficiency and learning environments at six schools.

This fall, school district officials have been busy explaining to the public what they will be getting if they agree to kick in $1.3 million annually over 10 years.

The district identified not $13 million worth of projects to tackle but $20 million.

Terry Wegner, school board president, said the $7 million difference would be collected through a combination of sources: the district’s operating budget, cost savings from energy efficiency upgrades, and a capital projects fund the district created, which it can begin tapping into in 2020.

If voters say yes to the referendum on Nov. 6, their mill rate would be about $7.66 per $1,000 of property. That equates to paying $766 in property taxes for a $100,000 home.

Wegner

If residents vote it down, their mill rate would be $6.40. The district would expect to try another referendum in the near future.

Either mill rate is less than the current $9.16.

School taxes will drop regardless of the referendum’s outcome because the district is retiring debt from both the 1999 construction of New London High School and the 2014 referendum for security, roofing and literacy resources.

This year’s referendum is aimed at operating facilities efficiently, Wegner said. The following are the highlights from the proposed project list, compiled from presentations Wegner gave at two recent public meetings.

 

Roofs

Although the 2014 referendum ultimately updated roofs at three schools, there remains three more buildings to do: Lincoln Elementary School, Sugar Bush Elementary School and New London High School.

The high school is by far the district’s largest roof at about 250,000 square feet. That roof is turning 20.

“We don’t want it to wear out to the point where it creates more issues by having leaks into our building,” Wegner said. “Then you don’t have to just replace the roof, you have to fix all the things that the leaks have managed to destroy as well.”

 

Boiler, chiller plant

The boiler and chiller plant at NLHS is original to when the building was constructed in 1999.

“Our boilers are past their life cycle and they’re one of those priorities that we need to address,” Wegner said. “It’s Wisconsin. We know winter’s coming. We know we have to heat our buildings.”

Only five of the 10 boilers heat the school at one time. But by alternating which boilers run when, they all last longer.

 

Energy efficiency

All six schools would receive cost-saving energy efficiency upgrades.

Double-pane windows would be installed at Parkview, Readfield and Sugar Bush elementary schools and New London Intermediate/Middle School.

“We have some single-pane windows in our buildings,” Wegner said. “The simple matter is they weren’t broke [so] we didn’t replace them.”

The four elementary schools would convert to LED lighting.

“We actually have seen significant savings from [switching to LED at NLHS this year],” Wegner said. “We’re in the process of doing the middle school. So we know we can do things that can keep our operational costs in check and potentially provide us funds to invest elsewhere.”

 

HVAC

Parkview would receive an updated variable air volume system, air handling units and ductwork.
The middle school would receive a new air handling unit.

Unit ventilators would be replaced at Sugar Bush and Readfield elementary schools.

“Today we have a really difficult time managing airflow and temperatures in some of our buildings,” Wegner said. “If I’m in Parkview … on the south classroom, it’s 80 degrees. If I’m on the north classroom, it’s 65. The systems have run their course and they need to be replaced.”

 

Fire alarms

Fire alarm and security panels replacements would occur at all six schools.

“All our fire alarms work, but in today’s world where security is a big issue, we can upgrade our systems to be better than they are,” Wegner said. “They function in more intelligent ways than they [did in the past].”

 

Learning spaces

At the middle and high schools – where technology is the most integrated into students’ daily routines – some rooms could become better work spaces, Wegner said.

This might mean reconfiguring some classrooms so students all have a convenient place to plug in their Chromebook computers while they collaborate on a group project, Wegner said.

One successful reconfiguration so far, Wegner said, was the NLHS library. Staff made room for an 80-inch computer monitor that is used in providing instruction to students as well as teachers.

 

Parkview restrooms

Parkview has scattered restrooms in the 4-year-old kindergarten classroom, kindergarten classroom and the main office.

But there is only one set of restrooms accessible to everybody at any time of day, in the center of the school.

“When we release classes, whether it’s for lunch or for a break, we have 50 or 60 children going to one set of bathrooms,” Wegner said. “That’s not an easy proposition.”

A second set would be built as part of an addition on the southeast side of the school.

 

Parkview space needs

Parkview would shift a few classrooms into said addition to address space needs.

Special education and 4-K would vacate the building’s southernmost classrooms to make way for a combination lunchroom and collaboration space.

The current practice of wheeling tables into and out of the gymnasium at lunchtime is both inefficient and unsafe, Wegner said.

“Oftentimes you can find [the lunch tables stored] in a hallway,” Wegner said. “That’s not where we want them. If there’s [a safety] issue in our building, that’s the last place we want those tables.”

As for the collaboration space, “There’s a lot of work across grades and within grades these days between teachers, and we need them to have a place to do that,” Wegner said.

 

Miscellaneous projects

Other items that the school district would accomplish in the referendum would include:

• Plumbing and restroom updates at Lincoln, Readfield, Sugar Bush and the middle school.

• Electrical distribution systems updates at Readfield and Sugar Bush.

• Fencing installation around Parkview.

• Masonry restoration at Readfield.

 

Want to learn more about the referendum?

Visit the school district’s referendum page or attend one of these upcoming community information sessions:

• Thursday, Oct. 18, 6 p.m. at Readfield Elementary School, E9177 State Highway 96.

• Tuesday, Oct. 23, 10:30 a.m. at the Washington Center, 500 W. Washington St.

• Thursday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m. at the school district office, 901 W. Washington St.

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