OCONTO FALLS (NBC 26) — Voters in the Oconto Falls School District will decide on a $37.63 million referendum this November.
This comes as voters rejected a $49.9 million referendum in April.
“We went back to the taxpayers and we asked them for feedback as to why they voted the way they did. In a nutshell people said we really want you to come back for another referendum but we want you to reduce the price and we really want you to focus on the middle school,” said Dean Hess, Oconto Falls Superintendent.
If the new referendum is approved, the district would move forward with creating new secured entrances for all schools, they will repair roofs, and will build a new middle school.
“It has quite a few needs and the school district has done what it can to address those needs,” said Hess.
“On the very first day of summer school I had two ceiling tiles that had disintegrated from the rain coming in and I had a big pool of water. They try as best as they can to try and patch it up,” said a Washington Middle School teacher.
A big concern for administrators is the safety of students, they want to make sure entrances at schools are secured.
“What we have here is a buzzer where people when they attempt to enter the building, hit the buzzer and the office can see them on the camera, they can also hear them,” said Stephanie Landerman, Washington Middle School Principal. “But once they have entered the main entrance they really have free rein to enter the entire building without us having vet them further.”
If the referendum is approved, residents would see a property tax reduction from the previous year of 37 cents per every thousand dollar of assessed property value.
If it isn’t approved, taxpayers will see a reduction of about $2.62 per every thousand dollar of assessed property value.
To learn more about the Oconto Falls referendum, click here.
