STAYING INFORMED

Shall the Unified School District of Marshfield, Wood, Marathon and Clark Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $71,575,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project consisting of:  construction of additions, renovations, and capital maintenance, safety, security, physical education, building infrastructure, systems and site improvements at the High School and Grant Elementary School; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?

Since 2016, the District Administration and Board have been actively engaged in comprehensive facilities improvement planning to address numerous infrastructure and educational needs that have arisen since the District's last successful building referendum in 2005. In October, 2023, the District hired Nexus Solutions, a K12 facility planning and implementation firm, to develop a current technical and financial plan with the input of staff, students, and community members.

A FACILITY (bond) referendum asks for voter approval to allow the school board to borrow money to invest in large assets such as buildings and equipment and other higher cost items that cannot be paid for within an annual budget. Facility improvements almost always involve borrowing money over a certain length of time, which is what the School District is seeking.

An OPERATIONAL referendum question asks voters to approve additional funding above the annual revenue limit to maintain things such as instructional programs, student services, lower class sizes, and to avoid cutting staff. Funds secured are used within the year they are received.

Many School Districts in Wisconsin are facing continously increasing challenges with their ability to fund operational needs. In fact, from April of 2022 through April of 2023 alone, there were 145 operational referendums by Wisconsin School Districts asking voters to approve additional funding for operational needs. Revenue limits were put into place in 1993 by the State of Wisconsin, reducing the ability of School Districts to raise the tax levy without gaining taxpayer approval. This was an effort to provide checks and balances for local taxpayers. Those checks and balances now come in the form of a referendum.

As a result, rather than the State of Wisconsin deciding which School District receives which amount of money, the question remains local. If a local referendum passes or fails, it is local dollars, impacting local education, and for local children.

The School District of Marshfield has not passed a bond referendum for capital building improvements since 2005, nearly 20 years ago. Facility needs that go unaddressed only get worse, leading to higher repair costs, and in some cases, result in secondary damage from factors such as water infiltration. Also, due to inflation, the cost of such work compounds significantly over time. Doing the work sooner rather than later will improve the learning environment for students and save the District's taxpayers money.

The needs identified at both Grant Elementary and the High School can be categorized into 3 areas: Safety and Security, Infrastructure, and Education Spaces. The most significant Safety and Security issue at both schools is the lack of secure entry structures to help prevent the entry of unwanted visitors.

Prioritized needs at Grant Elementary include:

• Secure entry and main office addition

• Kitchen expansion, remodel and new kitchen equipment

• Building storage addition

• Library classroom remodel

• Additional air conditioning and mechanical equipment upgrades

• Electrical service upgrades; replacing current lighting with LED lighting

• Upgrades to pick up/drop off area

• Roofing replacement

• Locker replacement & ADA sink compliance

Prioritized needs at the High School include:

• Secure entry and main office addition

• Expansion of the Commons

• Upgrades to boiler/chiller plants, air handling units, plumbing, and Tech Ed exhaust

• Upgrades to electrical service, generators, lighting and fire alarm

• Upgrades to windows and doors

• Roofing replacement

• Wrestling Room Addition (CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION)

• Pool Spectator/Bathroom Group Addition​

• Girl’s Locker Room Renovations

• Upgraded kitchen equipment

• Receiving addition & relocation of ACE academy space

• Tech Ed additions/renovations: Construction, Metal Tech and Engineering/ Electronics

• Agriculture renovations/additions

• Science room upgrades

• General & special education classroom remodeling

Grant Elementary and the High School were prioritized for improvements because they were identified as having the greatest overall safety/security concerns by comparison to the other school district buildings, and because the comprehensive facility study indicated these two buildings have the most significant needs in terms of building infrastructure. 

If the referendum is approved, a new secure entry and main office will be constructed adjacent to the cafeteria/commons. The space where the current High School office is located will be remodeled to accommodate additional classroom space for students and staff, additional student services space for academic and career planning, and serve as a multi-use meeting space when school is not in session for activities such as after-school programming, staff development, and Board of Education meetings.

The prioritization of needs for the November 5th facility referendum was a collaborative effort between the Board of Education, the Facility Planning Committee, and District Administration with guidance from Nexus Solutions, based on valuable input from district staff, students, and the community. 

Input was received from 238 staff members, over 40 students, and nearly 850 District residents to create a focused plan. 

The District has demonstrated fiscal responsibility by paying off its debt from the 2005 referendum ahead of schedule. Marshfield has the lowest school tax rate among area districts. In fact, if the referendum passes, the School District of Marshfield would remain below the average of area districts for both the school tax rate and levy per student.

Approval of the referendum would result in an annual estimated tax increase of $142 ($11.83 per month) for every $100,000 of a taxpayer’s property value over the current tax rate. This would continue to keep Marshfield’s school tax rate below the average of our neighboring Districts, while funding prioritized facility needs.

As is commonly done with all Wisconsin school districts, 15-20 year general obligation bonds will be issued to finance the project. 

Yes. Marshfield will receive the benefit of State aid on any new debt used to fund facility priorities. Although the overall referendum amount remains at $71,575,000, the state will pay for 13% of the debt repayment, on average, on an annual basis, decreasing the amount required from the local taxpayers.

We listened to our taxpayers' request to reduce the referendum amount, and we responded—this referendum is nearly 30% less than the April 2023 facility referendum. 

However, the district’s facility needs exceed what can be funded through the annual budget or addressed all at once. In total, the district has identified over $157 million in facility needs, with some requiring immediate attention and others being longer-term priorities. 

The Board of Education and administration prioritized facility improvement measures based on valuable input from a staff survey, students, the community-based Facility Planning Committee, and community polling data. 

Input was received from 238 staff members, over 40 students, and nearly 850 District residents to create a focused plan. 

Grant Elementary:

$13,186,600 [Prioritized Safety and Security, Student Spaces, and Building Infrastructure] 

High School:

$54,978,000 [Prioritized Safety and Security, Student Spaces, Physical Education/Athletics and Building Infrastructure] 

Inflation allowance, applied to all projects, for anticipated bidding and construction beginning in 2025:

$3,410,400 

Total referendum budget:

$75,575,000 

Note: The above numbers are budgets and are not to be considered actual costs. These budgets include all project costs, e.g., engineering, management, permits, construction cost, etc. 

For a detailed referendum budget breakdown CLICK HERE

Prior to referendum, comprehensive budgets were developed to account for the funding needed for proposed projects. The proposed projects were defined based on a comprehensive analysis of our facilities and detailed conversations with our building leaders, staff, and students.  

Detailed design and engineering do not take place until after the referendum, and the final project cost will be determined by a competitive bidding process. However, there are reliable ways to establish comprehensive budgets for additional space, remodeled space, building infrastructure, furniture, fixtures, and equipment in advance of a referendum. 

In Marshfield’s case, we worked closely with Nexus Solutions to establish and refine comprehensive project budgets, including a contingency for future inflation, by utilizing bidding results from similar projects throughout the Midwest, historical cost data, and input from subconsultants, subcontractors and suppliers. As the project scopes were refined throughout the planning process - based on additional input from staff, students, the community, and the Board of Education - the comprehensive project budgets were also refined.  

Finally, the Board of Education reviewed comprehensive project budgets before approving the total budget for the referendum.

No. The mill rate is lower due to a combination of Marshfield having a comparatively lower revenue limit (i.e., lower spending per pupil) and based on the Equalization Aid Formula that is calculated by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Equalization Aid (or, General State Aid) is driven by the amount of total property value per total number of students residing within the school district as compared to all other public school districts in the State of Wisconsin.  

In other words, as the rate of property value per pupil goes down, on a state-wide average comparison, the amount of General State Aid a school district receives goes up.  

Marshfield is actually below state average when it comes to the amount of property value per resident pupil within the physical boundaries of the Marshfield School District. As a consequence, Marshfield gets a high amount of General State Aid, with almost 60% of its annual operating budget coming from the State in the form of General State Aid. This helps reduce the amount of revenue that must be levied on local taxpayers and helps lower the mill rate. 

After approval of the referendum, Nexus Solutions will work with design teams and user groups comprised of district staff and users of specific spaces within Grant Elementary and the High School during a six-to-nine-month design process. From these designs, detailed plans and specifications will be produced and requests for bids will be issued to contractors to obtain the best possible pricing. If projects come in under budget, those funds are retained in the district’s project budget; they are not retained by Nexus Solutions.

In most cases, a District and Board of Education choose to utilize cost savings to address additional facility projects that have been identified as prioritized needs but were previously eliminated due to budget constraints. Districts may also utilize the cost savings to pay down the referendum debt.

Facility needs that remain unresolved don't go away, and they only get worse in terms of higher repair costs, and increased potential for secondary damage from complicating factors such as water infiltration. Due to inflation of material and labor costs, the solutions only become more expensive the longer they go unaddressed.

The cost of virtually everything has spiked over the last few years, and school districts are not immune to the effects. Fuel, utility, transportation, classroom and food costs are up while the cost to attract and retain full-time staff, substitute teachers and support staff has risen.

Farmland, or agricultural land, is assessed differently than the value of a typical home. For agricultural land, the value is determined by the use value instead of the market value. In a use value assessment system, the use of the land is the most important factor in determining its assessed value.

Yes. In fact, for many decades minor maintenance items were covered in annual budgets. Revenue limits were put into place in 1993, thereby reducing the ability of Marshfield to raise the levy without asking the public for approval. The District is also required to ask for public approval of any long-term debt, such as bonds to finance the cost of facility upgrades. This is an effort to provide checks and balances, in the form of a referendum.

An argument to support this notion is that rather than the State of Wisconsin deciding which school receives what amount of money, the question remains local. If a local referendum passes or fails, it is local dollars, impacting local buildings, local programming, and local children.

If the referendum were to pass on November 5, 2024, the design team would begin work on the design and construction documents, followed by bidding all projects. It is anticipated that Grant Elementary construction projects would begin in summer of 2025 with estimated completion by the start of the 2026-27 school year. The High School construction projects would begin in spring of 2026, with substantial completion by the start of the 2027-28 school year.

Nexus Solutions was selected by the school board and administration after evaluating proposals from (18) firms and interviewing (4) of them. 

Nexus is a professional services firm that specializes exclusively in addressing the facility needs of K12 school districts, mainly in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Their team has planned and implemented more than 70 major K12 facility projects in just the past few years. Locally, Nexus has worked extensively with Stevens Point, Wausau, Wisconsin Rapids, and DC Everest in the planning, development, design, and construction of dozens of school building improvements, funded via successful referendums.  All these projects were completed on time, on budget, and to the satisfaction of their students, staff, and community members. 

For more information, please visit: www.nexussolutions.com. 

Since 2011, state aid to Wisconsin’s schools has not kept pace with inflation, making it more difficult to fund prioritized needs for both facility maintenance and operations within the District’s annual budget. In fact, so far in 2024 there have been 103 referendums by Wisconsin School Districts to fund facility and operational needs.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SCHOOL FUNDING IN WISCONSIN

From now through November 5, the District will provide as many opportunities as possible for you to learn more about facility needs, understand how the District worked with staff, parents and the community to prioritize needs and define solutions, and the estimated impact on property taxes. Please email referendum@marshfieldschools.org with any questions you might have.

To easily register to vote, request an absentee ballot, or to verify your voting location please visit MyVote.Wi.Gov.

Early In-Person Voting: Starts Tuesday 10/22/24 and runs through Friday 11/1/24. District residents can vote during office hours at most voting locations.

Polls are open on Election Day: Tuesday, November 5th 7 am – 8 pm.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE VOTER INFORMATION

In 2018-2020, Marshfield completed several athletic complex projects with a total investment of $12.3 million. Almost 2/3 (over $8 million) of the cost of the projects was funded by donations and in-kind contributions from our community:

Kenneth & Ardyce Heiting Community Stadium

A multi-sport stadium complex was built at Marshfield High School that includes a grandstand, ticket booths, video scoreboard, concession building, and wall of champions. The stadium opened for its first games in August 2019.

Baseball and Softball Fields

A new baseball field was built west of the High School and a new softball field was built across the street at Madison Elementary School. Both fields include a turf infield, natural grass outfield with irrigation, exterior fencing, press boxes, and concession stands.

Marshfield Middle School

The existing track and athletic fields were renovated and can now be used for middle school P.E. classes and extracurricular activities. The renovated Beell Stadium continues to be used for both high school and middle school athletic contests, while the middle school track and field is open to the public for walking and other recreational activities when not in use for school functions.

Marshfield has made significant efforts to both maintain and upgrade facilities without asking for funding via a referendum. Generally, these are smaller projects that can be addressed within the District's annual budget. With over 100 projects completed over the past few years, examples include:

• Playground equipment replacement

• Asbestos abatement

• Upgrades to doors, flooring, ceilings, windows, and lighting

• Locker replacement

• Casework and countertop replacement

• Boiler repair and replacement

• Plumbing and electrical repair and upgrades

• Roofing repairs

• Concrete and asphalt repairs

• Drainage improvements

• Fire alarm maintenance

• Signage upgrades

Yes, the District, Board of Education, and Facility Planning Committee discussed the cost of building a new Elementary, Middle School or High School.

A new High School, with capacity for 1,200 students, with site acquisition and infrastructure costs, was estimated to cost between $130 million and $140 million dollars.

A new Middle School, with capacity for 900 students, with site acquisition and infrastructure costs, was estimated to cost between $70 million and $80 million dollars.

A new Elementary School, with capacity for 600 students, with site acquisition and infrastructure costs, was estimated to cost between $40 million and $50 million dollars.

The above options would come with significantly more tax impact to Marshfield taxpayers, and still not address building infrastructure or educational adequacy issues at Marshfield’s remaining schools. Also, locations with enough land to build a new school and the associated site are not plentiful.

Ultimately, the Board of Education determined the most functional and financially responsible approach was to make prioritized improvements to some of Marshfield’s existing school buildings, while extending the useful life of those buildings.

Currently, our District’s utility cost per square foot is approximately 24% below the Wisconsin average, and we believe we can continue to make improvements that will yield up to an estimated 15% in additional energy savings in utility costs in the long term (see below graphic). Regarding the prioritized referendum projects, we are estimating over $30,000 in additional annual energy savings due to upgrades to HVAC equipment, roofs, windows, and lighting. We also expect operational and maintenance savings due to reduced repair costs on items like HVAC equipment, roofing, plumbing,  and electrical because those items will either be new or upgraded by the referendum investment.

ENERGY SAVINGS