Mukwonago voters to decide on $102 million school referendum
MUKWONAGO, Wis. - On April 2, there will be 91 school referendums in Wisconsin, totaling $1.45 billion. Milwaukee hosts the most expensive, New Richmond's is second, and number three is Mukwonago.
The Mukwonago Area School District last went to referendum in 2016 when voters approved $49.5 million for high school renovations, new auditorium, and a new gym, among other things. This year, they'll be asked to approve $102 million.
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Mukwonago 2024 referendum plan
"At some points, I’m against it, at some points I’m for it," said Maria Carrillo, who lives in the village. "I always look at the students, the children. The children are our future. And if you don’t think about the future, these children ar going to be lost in this society."
She’s struggling on whether she should vote yes or no on the referendum.
"An investment in your schools is an investment in your community," said Mukwonago Area School District Superintendent Joe Koch, PhD.
The $102 million would tear down the current Park View Middle School, which is now 70 years old.
The district would then build a replacement, adding 6th graders to the current 7th and 8th.
Park View Middle School
"To enhance the educational opportunities for our students, and then to replace an aging building that is going to require a lot of investment in order to keep it running, added Koch.
The district shared photos of crowded hallways, full classrooms, and corroded pipes.
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A crowded school hallway
"The cost to renovate and add sixth grade and get the building up to standard was about $85 million, which was 88% the cost of building the new building," noted Koch.
The new building would add space for science, tech, gym and music, and add space when the district expects to add roughly 350 more students in the next decade.
"The current Park View Middle School, the music rooms are converted classrooms, low ceilings, they don't really accommodate the number of kids that we have or are interested in music," Koch said.
He said moving the 6th graders out of the elementary schools would then free up room for more four-year-olds. 4K right now has a waiting list of about 75 kids.
"We opened [4K enrollment] up at 8 a.m. For our full day seats, they were filled by 8:12 a.m.," added Koch.
Mukwonago April 2, 2024 referendum
But Carrillo, a former teacher, isn't sure what to do. "I’ve been living here for 24 years and my taxes have gone up and up and up. And there’s no break," she said. "I’m smack in the middle. I think it’s because I’m not rich, and I’m not poor. I’m in the middle."
For a $100,000 home, the school property tax would go up $69 a year. For a $300,000 home, taxes would go up $207 a year.
Superintendent Koch says that even with the referendum added on, it would still be a lower tax rate than it had in 2021.
For more information on the referendum, click here.
In February, there were 10 referendums, but only four of them passed. Failed votes included two in Waterford, totaling $91 million.