Holding discussion in a special board meeting Monday Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m., the Stanley-Boyd Area School Board opted to put Option 2 before the voters April 2, a motion to approve the sale of bonds made by Chad Verbeten and seconded by Toni Seidl, followed with a motion to approve said referendum that was made by Denise Hoffstatter and seconded by Ryan Lewallen. Board members chose unanimously to approve putting the referendum before voters following the two motions.
With the school board capped at $1 million in borrowing without asking voter approval, the bond referendum vote to take place April 2 will give district voters a chance of whether to approve $23 million in general obligation bonds, the estimated tax impact being $94 per $100,000 in property value.
Ballot text for voters will read as follows:
“Shall the Stanley-Boyd Area School District, Chippewa Clark, Eau Claire and Taylor Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $23,000,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project at the district’s main campus consisting of: construction of an addition for a gymnasium, locker rooms and commons; relocation of the district office; district-wide renovations, capital maintenance, building infrastructure and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures, and equipment?”
Included in the price tag for Option 2 would be a three station gym with locker rooms, relocation of the district office, and construction of one central cafeteria to replace the current arrangement, in which food is carted across the school from the kitchen. The high school gym would also be upgraded to create a better place for concerts and plays, while the middle school gym could be repurposed to have a dedicated wrestling space, more storage, and practice areas for baseball, softball, and golf, which currently use the gym.
“Everybody looks at it and says it’s all about athletics,” board member Chad Verbeten said Monday. “It’s not all about athletics. It’s about putting our community in the best possible place for our kids.
With an updated drawing coming from LHB Architects as the referendum approaches, the district previously sent the community a facility planning survey in November 2023. The District received a 22% response rate, with 60% of respondents supporting the proposed options. A Facility Advisory Committee met on January 10 to review the survey results and provide a final recommendation to the Board of Education. Superintendent Jeff Koenig said the district was pleased with referendum response.
“The district is pleased with the survey response rate and the clear direction it gave us moving forward,” he said. “We have struggled with limited space for many years. The proposed projects will help fulfill our long-term needs.”
If the $23 million referendum passes, the estimated tax impact is $94 per year for a $100,000 property.
If not passed, the district will continue to have limited gym space and late-night practices, while potentially seeing students open enroll in nearby districts, Cadott and Thorp also holding referenda to improve their districts’ facilities.
Touched on at the meeting was the level of negative feedback.
“Given what we had last summer and last fall, I think I was surprised at the people that came and for lack of a better word had some strong opinions,” Verbeten shared of the Jan. 10 FAC meeting. CESA 10 representative Anthony Menard said negative feedback as voiced Jan. 10 was common.
“It’s more common than not to have naysayers during that third meeting said. “After people get the tax impact.” The district’s mill rate was relatively good compared to other districts, Menard said. “Don’t be too discouraged about it. There’s probably just a lot of people who haven’t spoken up about it.
Stanley-Boyd graduate and school board member Bob Geist closed with some historical context.
“The pool wasn’t received well either,” he said with reference to the nearby school pool, built at the turn of the 20th century. Built through a past referendum, the pool has since become a community fixture, offering a year-round space to swim and host pool parties.
The vote to approve or disapprove the present referendum for $23 million takes place April 2, a simple majority being the standard for passage. The district would then have a five-year window to act on the approval.
The district will hold community meetings in March as the referendum date draws near. Residents can find more information regarding the referendum on the District’s website at www.stanleyboyd.k12.wi.us/district/facility-planning.cfm.