Whether it’s a referendum for immediate needs or planning for the future, facilities need fixing in the Manitowoc Public School District.
That was the message from Interim Superintendent Lee Thennes during one of three presentations about why the district is asking MPSD residents to borrow $25 million for immediate maintenance needs.
Thennes reiterated that the district can’t borrow more than $1 million a year without permission from residents, and if the referendum is approved, the money would go toward immediate needs like fire alarm upgrades, better plumbing and HVAC, and better pedestrian traffic for students.
“Lincoln’s a tough one because you got the lake,” he noted. “A lot of schools, you can go in on all sorts of sides, this one (Lincoln) you can’t. So, this is a tough one. But for some of the other ones, we can do some different things to make things safer when kids are coming in and out of school. Believe it or not, we’ve had some kids get hit by cars in the last couple of years.”
He reminded residents in attendance that like other districts in the state, they are also dealing with inadequate state funding and declining enrollment which is why they’ve had to go to taxpayers over the last 30 years.
Money is also going to have to be moved around to keep up with maintenance if the referendum goes through.
Residents then asked questions about many topics, but many were related to property taxes and how they’ve gone up over the last couple of years.
Thennes says the district is trying to level the issue out on their end, which will include some staff cuts.
They don’t control things like voucher money, the values of homes, or how they are assessed.
“But we do control is how much total we’re taking, and what your mil rate will be as a result,” he stated. “And what we’re promising you is that we’re going to find the way to make these payments through savings and operations. And it’s already done. We’ve already communicated with the board that those reductions are happening in staff.”
One resident asked what’s going to happen if the referendum doesn’t pass, to which Thennes said, “I don’t know. So, the real answer is we’ll take care of whatever we can with the $1.2 million or whatever we are able to put in. Plus, we have a thing called Fund 46. It’s like a savings account for buildings and capital improvements.”
However, most of that money will be going toward a summer roof repair project at Lincoln High School.
Thennes also brought back up the possibility of the consolidation of schools happening as part of their future planning during last night’s presentation.
He will host one more referendum presentation next Wednesday (March 19th) at the Wilson Middle School auditorium.
The MPSD referendum is one of 80 others happening in the state this spring.
