With the Arrowhead Union High School District voting to put a $261.2 million facilities referendum on the November ballot, as well as a $7.6 million operational referendum, voters could approve an amount even larger than the $252 million referendum Milwaukee Public Schools’ voters narrowly approved in April.
With that in mind, where do the Arrowhead referendums stand in terms of the largest school referendums in the state in recent years?
Here’s a list of the biggest referendums since 2014 — those that passed as well as those that failed — based in part on the Wisconsin Department of Instruction’s referendum history database.
1. Racine Unified School District
What: Nonrecurring operational referendum
When: April 2020
How much: $1.07 billion over 30 years; $18 million each year from the 2020-21 through the 2024-25 school years; $22.5 million each year from 2025-26 through 2028-29; $42.5 million each year from 2029-30 through 2050-51.
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: “Building modernization, land acquisition, enhancements for student career pathway programs, safety improvements, furnishings and equipment, technology and debt service for new building and other capital improvement projects,” according to information on the DPI’s referendum history database.
2. Madison Metropolitan School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2020
How much: $317 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Fund renovations and additions to the district’s four high schools, construct a new elementary school, consolidate Capital High School from two locations to one location.
3. Milwaukee Public Schools
What: Recurring operational referendum
When: April 2024
How much: $252 million over four years; $140 million in 2024-25; $51 million in 2025-26; $47 million in 2026-27 and $14 million in 2027-28
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Referendum funds will support educational programming such as career and technical education programs, language programs and mental health support.
4. La Crosse School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2022
How much: $194.7 million
Passed or failed? Failed
Purpose: The referendum would have funded a consolidated high school, as well as renovations and improvements to the current La Crosse Logan and La Crosse Central high school buildings to convert them into middle schools.
5. Waunakee Community School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2022
How much: $175 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: The referendum funded the construction of a new Heritage Elementary School and construction of a new middle school, both on district-owned land; removal of the current Heritage Elementary School building, as well as districtwide renovations, capital maintenance and site improvements and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
6. Green Bay Area School District
What: Nonrecurring operational referendum
When: April 2017
How much: $165 million over 10 years; $16.5 million each year from the 2017-18 school year through the 2026-27 school year
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: To maintain educational programming and class sizes, as well as to retain staff
RELATED: Here are the types of school referendums and when they’ve succeeded in Wisconsin
7. Sun Prairie Area School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2019
How much: $164 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of a second high school, the reconfiguration of Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School to serve sixth through eighth grades, the relocation of Prairie Phoenix Academy and the building of a new multipurpose stadium at Ashley Field for use by both the district’s high schools.
8. Verona Area School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2017
How much: $162.76 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of new high school and auditorium, renovation and reconfiguration of current Verona Area High School and Badger Ridge Middle School, districtwide capital and building infrastructure improvements and repairs and acquisition of related furnishings, fixtures and equipment
9. Wausau School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2020
How much: $155 million
Passed or failed? Failed
Purpose: The referendum would have built a new elementary school on the current Grant Elementary School site, built an environmental learning center at the school forest, as well as funded modernization, improvements and districtwide building upgrades.
10. West Allis-West Milwaukee School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2022
How much: $149.8 million
Passed or failed? Failed
Purpose: The referendum would have funded closing Nathan Hale and West Allis Central high schools and created a new consolidated high school by remodeling and repurposing the Nathan Hale building.
11. Wausau School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2021
How much: $148.8 million
Passed or failed? Failed
Purpose: It would have funded construction of additions at Horace Mann and John Muir middle schools, West High School, and Grant, Lincoln, Hawthorn Hills, Maine, Rib Mountain, Riverview, South Mountain and Stettin elementary schools; construction of a new school forest environmental center; districtwide safety and security measures, school modernization, building infrastructure, capital maintenance and site improvements, remodeling at the elementary, middle and high schools and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
12. Middleton-Cross Plains School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2018
How much: $138.9 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction and equipping of a new elementary school; an addition, remodel, demolition and reconstruction of Middleton High School; construction of a new cafeteria at Park Elementary School and remodeling of the Clark Street Community School building for use as an early learning center.
13. Appleton Area School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2022
How much: $129.8 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Modernize the district’s four middle schools, add capacity to allow sixth-grade students to move to the district’s middle schools and update science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas; build a new elementary school to accommodate enrollment growth on the north side, allow for reduction of kindergarten through second-grade class sizes to facilitate moving sixth-grade students to the district’s middle schools; complete individualized projects at each elementary school to create a STEM space, improve security and update available spaces and build additions and complete renovations at the district’s three high schools, according to the Appleton Area School District’s website.
14. Neenah School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2019
How much: $129.58 million
Passed or failed? Failed
Purpose: The referendum would have built a new middle school, renovated the high school technical education area, made Americans with Disabilities Act and infrastructure upgrades, as well as safety and security upgrades at all district facilities.
15. Racine Unified School District
What: Nonrecurring operational referendum
When: November 2014
How much: $127.5 million over 15 years; $8.5 million each year from the 2014-15 school year to the 2028-29 school year
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Fund building maintenance, safety and security improvements, building modernization, technology enhancement and debt service for new building projects.
16. DeForest Area School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2019
How much: $125 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of a new intermediate school and maintenance building, renovations of Yahara Elementary School, DeForest Area Middle School, including a portion to be remodeled as the district office; renovation and expansion of DeForest High School, site improvements and acquisition of furniture, fixtures and equipment.
17. Wauwatosa School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: November 2018
How much: $124.9 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of new elementary school buildings for Underwood and McKinley elementary schools; major renovations to Lincoln and Wilson/WSTEM elementary schools, as well as districtwide renovation, site improvements, safety and security upgrades, capital improvements, HVAC systems upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act updates and classroom upgrades; acquisition of related fixtures, furnishings and equipment and remodeling Wauwatosa East and West high schools’ technical education classrooms and lab spaces.
18. Wausau School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2022
How much: $119.8 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of additions at Horace Mann and John Muir middle schools, West and East high schools, Grant, Riverview, South Mountain and Stettin elementary schools; construction of a new school forest environmental learning center; remodeling at all middle and high schools; districtwide safety and security updates, school updates, building infrastructure, capital maintenance and site improvements, as well as acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
19. Neenah School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2020
How much: $114.9 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construct a new high school, renovate the existing high school to convert it to an intermediate school and a middle school and districtwide safety and security upgrades.
20. New Richmond School District
What: Facilities referendum
When: April 2024
How much: $113.7 million
Passed or failed? Passed
Purpose: Construction of additions and renovations at Starr and Paperjack Elementary Schools and the district’s middle school; districtwide safety and capacity, building infrastructure and site improvements and acquisition of associated furnishings, fixtures and equipment, according to the DPI’s referendum history database.
Future referendums
Other referendums are expected to be on the ballot in November that also stand out for the amount they are seeking.
The Madison Metropolitan School District is planning a $507 million facilities referendum that, if approved, would fund renovations and construction of buildings and/or additions and improvements to Malcolm Shabazz City High School, Ray F. Sennett, Balck Hawk, Sherman and Akira R. Toki Middle Schools and at Milele Chikasa Anana, Crestwood, Samuel Gompers and Orchard Ridge elementary schools, as well as other districtwide improvements.
The district will also put a $100 million operational referendum question to voters that, if approved, would be paid over 20 years. The funding would increase by $30 million each year from 2024-25 to 2025-26; by an additional $20 million for 2026-27 and by an additional $20 million for 2027-28 and years after to pay for operational and maintenance expenses, including educational programming and employee compensation and benefits.
Another referendum of note is a $145 million facilities referendum for Franklin Public Schools. If voters approve, the funds would be used to make additions and renovations to Franklin High School, as well as to complete capital maintenance projects at Franklin High School and to the district’s five elementary schools.
Under state law, school boards that want to pose a referendum to voters must adopt a resolution at least 70 days before an election. For this year’s Nov. 5 election, that means boards must adopt resolutions by Aug. 27.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: See the biggest school referendums that have passed, failed since 2014
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