Hartland referendums; Arrowhead High School shows its age, voters ponder
HARTLAND, Wis. - Arrowhead Union High School's future could depend on votes being cast right now. Taxpayers are being asked for more than $250 million.
Superintendent Conrad Farner said Arrowhead High School is showing its age.
"Our facilities require millions of dollars just to maintain these old buildings," Farner said.
Arrowhead Union High School
After a year of surveys and studies, Farner said the school board settled on two referendums for the November ballot. They include a nearly $2 million annual operations referendum over the course of four years to pay for things like utilities and special education – and a $261 million facilities referendum to consolidate Arrowhead's split campus into one new school.
"Things are falling apart," Farner said.
Arrowhead Union High School
The school district hopes to win over voters like Kevin McCloud.
"For us, it’s a significant percentage of our current tax bill to add on top of it," McCloud said.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Three of McCloud's kids graduated from Arrowhead. His youngest child is a freshman right now. McCloud is also a certified financial planner.
"I just feel like the full construction of a new high school is too much," McCloud said.
Arrowhead Union High School
McCloud crunched the numbers and figures if both measures are passed, it will increase his taxes by $900.
"How confident are you that this is going to be successful?" asked FOX6's Bret Lemoine.
"I don’t know that I could say there’s a confidence level at all. It’s an uphill battle," Farner said.
Conrad Farner
Farner also showed FOX6 News Arrowhead's aging pool. The diving board has to be removed because it was not up to code.
Security is another issue. Farner said students have to walk three-quarters of a mile between the north and south campuses.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android
"We can keep putting millions of dollars into old facilities – they are both going to still get older, or is this the time to build new?" Farner said.
Conrad Farner
Arrowhead is holding an information meeting about the referendums on Tuesday night, Oct. 22 and again on Oct. 28. Farner said the district is also willing to give tours and answer questions voters may have.