Voters in the Oconto Falls School District on Tuesday approved two referendum questions, finally giving school officials the funding they sought to develop outdoor athletic facilities and complete maintenance projects.
The yes vote also allows the district to expand its one-to-one technology program for students and spend more money for personnel.
According to unofficial results, the first referendum question passed 1,290-754 and will allow the district to build a football stadium and track at Oconto Falls High School. School officials plan to break ground this fall.
This $2.2 million proposal, paid with a long-term bond, also includes parking lot repaving at the district’s buildings and renovations of the parking lot and entrance at Abrams Elementary School.
A second referendum question, which passed 1,223-817, will provide an additional $400,000 each year for three years, beginning with the 2014-15 school year. These additional funds will be spent to repair roofs, attract and retain teachers, and supply individual laptops for students.
Three previous outdoor facility questions failed in the school district. Two of these included baseball and softball fields, while the third included softball fields. Panther Pride and community supporters developed softball fields at the high school, so Tuesday’s focus was football and track.
Voters also overwhelmingly denied additional funding to support Oconto Falls schools in 2012, rejecting a referendum request to provide $825,000 over three years by a nearly 2-1 margin. The district promoted this referendum as a way to maintain small class sizes, facilities and programming, and to upgrade aging technology.
According to the school district, the financial impact for taxpayers for Tuesday’s referendum questions is $24 per $100,000 of equalized value for the first year and $16 for the second year. The levy stays the same or drops for the next six years, when all the long-term debt is paid off.
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