Prescott Building Repair & Replacements Referendum Passes
Election Results
Municipality
Yes
No
Prescott
488
298
Oak Grove
241
235
Clifton
117
131
Diamond Bluff
32
25
Trimbelle
12
14
TOTAL
890
703
Official Results after canvassing 4/8/2022, 10:55 a.m.
Thank you to all whom came out to vote April 5th.
INVEST IN OUR SCHOOLS, OUR STUDENTS, OUR FUTURE
Building Repair & Replacements Referendum Information
On April 5, Prescott School District residents will vote whether to provide maintenance needs funding for its three older buildings. If approved, the bond funding would address the urgent needs of these sites to provide safe, healthy and optimal learning spaces.
Referendum Public Meeting Dates
Community Referendum Session: Thursday, March 31th, Prescott High School, 6:30-8:30 pm
Presentation & Vendor Tables: Market & Johnson, River Valley Architects, Baird Financial Services
Low-financing: Interest rates continue to be historically low. The district’s bond rating is a solid Aa3 which qualifies the district for preferred financing.
In an uncertain economic climate, securing low-financing for maintenance needs is fiscally prudent.
The proposed financing structure will not increase the current tax level.
Retaining operational dollars: Operational dollars are for staffing, programs and student learning.
Without additional funding,operational dollars will be used for urgent maintenance issues and may place restrictions in other areas.
Every dollar spent on a boiler, breaker or roof takes away from our primary mission of educating students.
2019:A facility study was completed by SDS Architects (aka River Valley Architects) who developed pathways for immediate and long-range future consideration. These considerations were presented community wide.
2020: PSD partnered with School Perceptions to survey every household in the district.
Feedback on various options indicated and included that the community was more willing to invest in infrastructure and essential needs over more expansive considerations.
The community survey results also indicated that a majority of respondents supported the district pursuing a referendum under $16 million.
2021: The School Board established a community-based Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) to review internal and external facility audits, prioritize by site and evaluate the tax impact on property owners. FAC members presented three options for the school board to consider.
As shown in the chart below, it is anticipated that the district's tax mill rate will drop in 2022. Due to the debt levy dropping, past prepayment of debt, and refinancing, the passing of a $15 million dollar bond referendum will add debt (yes) but the new payment, plus existing debt payments will essentially equal the amount of the 2021-22 tax levy for debt. This is why it is a no-tax-increase.
The Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) identified and prioritized the building repair and replacement needs identified in the 2019 SDS Project Estimate. This chart shows the summary costs by priority level for each building. The project costs were updated with current pricing for an accurate current (2021) estimate and the lowest priority items were removed, with a final recommendation from the FAC, to stay at the bond funding request of $15 million.
Full SDS 2019 Project Estimate
(Note: this estimate was the original, which was completed in 2019. It does not include inflation costs or contingency funding.)
Prescott staff and students learn best when work and learning environments are free of leaking roofs, asbestos, and instructional disruptions. Prescott’s children need learning environments that are in a state of good repair. The April 5, 2022 referendum is about making essential facility improvements to minimize distractions and health risks and support learning.
Repairs and replacement of outdated mechanical systems with newer, more efficient systems save on annual operating costs and emergency repairs. These savings go into recruiting and retaining staff, enhancing and expanding programming, and student learning.
Historic low-interest rates, allow for a bond sale at low costs to taxpayers (no additional tax impact) but immediate impact by investing in our schools.
Investing to maintain our current facilities benefits our community by attracting new families and businesses, positively impacting property values and sustaining community wide access to our facilities and programs.
The district would continue to serve the community through the Gathering Place Senior Center, our robust community recreation and community education programming and the performing arts center.
A failed referendum would not change the maintenance needs. Ignoring known repairs or replacements could result in higher long-term cost and loss of learning.
Classrooms would be susceptible to disruption: ceiling leaks, broken pipes and inconsistent classroom temperatures.
Without an additional investment in building maintenance, the school board may need to divert operating dollars to emergency repairs.
Emergency repair costs could impact programming, salaries and staffing.
Non-essential expenses, such as in-town bussing may need to be suspended or ended.
If the referendum fails, although taxpayers may see a decrease in property taxes, essential building needs will remain unaddressed.
Addressing the basic needs of our buildings is the first and foundational step before engaging in the development of our long-term master plan for the district.
A majority of the assessment information needed to transition to a long-term facilities plan has been completed through Full 2019 Facilities Report.
If the referendum is approved, the district will form a facilities and planning committee with district staff and community members.
Election Day is Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Prescott City Hall - - 800 Borner Street
Clifton Town Hall - - W11705 County Road FF
Diamond Bluff Town Hall - - W9870 290th Avenue
Oak Grove Town Hall -- N4939 1110th Street
Trimbelle Town Hall - - N5310 800th Street
If the referendum passes, the district will make additional gains in the operational budget. Some of the savings in maintenance, along with energy efficiency savings, could potentially be reallocated to other areas of operations, such as salaries and programming.
The facilities audit that was done in 2019 addressed needs in 1-3 year and 4-6 increments. Now, three years later, those "1-3 year needs" could be immediate needs to be addressed.
The last time the district held a building referendum was in 2004 which passed $1.755 million for remodeling, repair, and improvement projects at the high school (now the MIS) for and $7 million for Middle School asbestos abatement and renovation. Prior to that, the previous successful referendum was in 2000, which addressed renovation needs and an addition of the Kindergarten wing at the Malone Elementary School for $1.52 million.
Through fiscal responsibility and maintaining a balanced budget over the course of the past five years, the district has been able to increase their general fund to a point where it is nearing the recommended ceiling (per board policy), which now enables them to redirect surplus dollars at the end of the fiscal year to items such as:
Funding future capital projects.The district is nearing $1 million in the Fund 46 capital maintenance fund, an initiative that was started less than 5 years ago. This fund can be used for future smaller capital projects, potentially avoiding directing Fund 10 dollars to capital projects.
The district has refinanced bonds and paid off debt early, which has saved taxpayers over 1 million dollars.
Our Moody's credit rating is now at Aa3, which allows us to borrow money at lower interest rates
The Question: "Shall the School District of Prescott, Pierce County Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $15,000,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school facility improvement project consisting of: roof replacement, capital maintenance, building infrastructure, systems and exterior building improvements at Malone Elementary School, Malone Intermediate School and Prescott Middle School, including electrical replacements, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) replacements, asbestos abatement, compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) updates and site improvements? "
Video Presentation from Baird Financial on Prescott School District's Financial Health and School Funding 101.
Facilities Planning Process
A comprehensive facility study and planning process began in May of 2019 and culminated with the Facility Advisory Committee’s three options recommended to the school board in November of 2021. See a link to the Facilities Planning page here.