WHY ARE WE CONSIDERING THESE IMPROVEMENTS NOW?
The nature of teaching and learning has changed tremendously over the past 50 years, yet Greendale Schools have not undergone any major improvements to accommodate for these instructional models especially at the elementary level. Current research and best practice in education emphasizes the importance of students actively engaged in their learning including goal setting, exploration, collaboration with other students, and presentation of their learning in authentic ways beyond a pencil/paper test.
In order to make sure that the district’s learning environments match the changes in educational practices, the District engaged in strategic planning in 2016, identifying three priorities:
- Project-based learning to personalize learning experience
- Exploration of pathways into viable careers
- Youth engagement in the community
Priority work teams then examined the current state of District facilities and building needs to ensure that the strategic priorities could be reached to improve student engagement, growth, and achievement.
The $33.8 million facility improvement proposal includes a major investment in all three elementary schools ($24 million) by renovating spaces to allow for active learning practices, including collaboration, critical/creative thinking, and communication.
WHY CAN’T THE DISTRICT USE EXISTING OPERATIONAL BUDGET TO COVER THE COSTS OF THESE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS? WHY WASN’T THIS BUILT INTO EXISTING BUDGETS AND LONG-TERM SAVINGS?
While the District has done a good job maintaining its facilities, state school finance laws make it difficult for schools to save money over time to address maintenance and improvements in the same way that a homeowner might. As a result, school districts generally are compelled to seek a referendum to cover the expense of large costs items.
Greendale Schools is in a strong financial state to borrow at this time. The District’s Moody’s Bond Rating of Aa2 and historically low interest rates make now a good time for these projects.
The District is very conservative in its spending practices and mindful of how each dollar in the budget impacts students. This careful management has led to a reduction in the tax mill rate over the past five years. The chart below reflects this reduction and projects an addition reduction (without a referendum) for 2019-2020. Should the referendum pass, the estimated mill rate increase would still be lower than the mill rate in 2015-2016.
IF THE REFERENDUM PASSES, HOW WILL IT AFFECT MY TAXES?
The maximum borrowing amount of the facilities referendum is $33.8 million. The debt will be borrowed in phases to match the construction spending schedule. The debt will be repaid over 20 years from the time of each borrowing and will have a total estimated tax levy mill rate increase for debt of 93 cents for every $1,000 of property value. This increase is in addition to the current mill rate for debt of $1.15 in 2017-18 and this current debt will be paid off to zero in 2027. The new debt repayment takes into account the 2027 pay off and is structured to minimize the tax increase for residents. Municipal borrowing interest rates remain near the lowest levels in the past 50 years.
The value is found on your current tax assessment mailed to homes by the Village of Greendale in late June and early July 2018. It is also available on the Village website here.
HOW WILL MY HOME REVALUATION AFFECT WHAT I PAY FOR THIS REFERENDUM?
Revaluation redistributes the existing property tax burden so that all property owners pay their fair share based on the market value of their property. The total amount of taxes levied is completely independent of the overall assessment. Differences in the taxes paid by individual property owners will result from assessments that change more or less than the average. An increase in your assessment may not result in an increase in your property taxes overall. Please remember that the tax levy does not change as a result of the revaluation. Tax levies are established annually by the different taxing authorities (County, Village, Local School Districts, MATC, and MMSD). More information on the tax levy is available on the Village website here.
HOW IS THE CURRENT DEBT GOING TO BE BUILT INTO THE $33.8M REFERENDUM? ?
The debt will be borrowed in phases to match the construction spending schedule. Borrowings are likely in 2019 and 2020 with a final payment in 2040. The debt will be repaid over 20 years from the time of each borrowing and will have a total estimated tax levy mill rate increase for debt of 93 cents for every $1,000 of property value. This increase is in addition to the current mill rate for debt of $1.15 in 2017-18 and this current debt will be paid off to zero in 2027. The new debt repayment takes into account the 2027 pay off and is structured to minimize the tax increase for residents.
Complete details of the preliminary debt repayment plan are available here.
WHY ARE WE INVESTING IN LIBRARIES? ?
Reimagining library spaces is a way we can support various forms of learning in our schools. Libraries in the 21st century serve a very different purpose for students than they did in the 20th century. While libraries will continue to function as an archive of information, artifacts, and material, the way items are stored has changed and become digital. This allows the physical space of a library to be dedicated more toward connecting learning and constructing knowledge in active, meaningful ways.
In essence, libraries are transformed from quiet spaces to learning commons that encourage innovation, collaboration, creation, and exploration. Libraries become equipped with small group stations, makerspaces, and video production stations so that students can collaborate, communicate, build, and share.
WHAT ARE “MAKERSPACES” AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
A makerspace is a collaborative work space where students, teachers, and community members can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. Makerspaces allow for hands on learning, help with critical thinking skills and even boost self-confidence. These spaces have a variety of creative equipment, including 3D printers, 3D modeling programs, coding programs, robotics and other technology for video and music recording and editing, engineering design, and conferencing and are great place for students to engage in project based learning.
ARE WE ADDING MORE OPEN ENROLLMENT STUDENTS THAN IN THE PAST? IS RESIDENT STUDENT ENROLLMENT INCREASING? ?
While many districts in the state are facing declining enrollment, this is NOT the case in Greendale. In fact, resident enrollment is increasing in Greendale Schools and over the next several years is expected to increase. This is very good news for the District! Because of the Board of Education’s commitment to small class sizes and the increase in resident students in the schools, the number of Open Enrollment (OE) students in our schools has gone down. At peak, Greendale had nearly 500 OE students attending. In the 2018-2019 school year, the projection is that 275 students will be attending through the state’s Open Enrollment program.
Open enrollment seats are reviewed on an annual basis by the Board of Education. These seats are opened and filled only when the District has decided on sections and courses with anticipation of open seats that still keep class sizes under District determined maximum limits.
WHY DO WE NEED TO BUILD NEW CAFETERIA/MULTI-PURPOSE SPACES IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS?
Currently, the gymnasium space in two of our elementary schools is used daily as the student lunch room. This means the space is used in the morning for physical education classes, quickly turned by the custodial staff into the lunchroom space, and quickly transformed again into PE curricular space after lunch. This practice creates scheduling challenges to meet the health, safety and curricular needs of students.
Additionally, the elementary schools have very limited space for large group learning opportunities. The additional multi-purpose rooms provide for flexible space that teachers can use to showcase student work, bring in community speakers, and for other larger community functions that add to the educational opportunities for our students.
The District is also receiving more requests from community groups to use school spaces after school hours to support activities the benefit the students and community. The need for additional space for adult and youth programming continues to increase and the community is frequently turned away or alternate scheduling (early and/or later evening timing) is required to meet the need.
Creating these new spaces also eases the school scheduling and security challenges around known election days. The new configurations will allow for locked cafeterias where public voting can occur while students are in school and classes are in session.
OUR STUDENTS ALREADY DO WELL ACADEMICALLY AND IN CO-CURRICULARS. WHY DO WE NEED TO INVEST IN OUR FACILITIES?
Methods of teaching and learning have changed in the nearly 60 years since most of the Greendale school buildings were built. While Greendale students do indeed achieve excellence in academics and co-curriculars, the configuration of many of our school spaces makes utilizing these current methods of instruction and collaboration a challenge. Making these updates to school classrooms and common areas will eliminate the obstacles that make some of these learning activities more difficult and advance the capabilities of Greendale students.
?WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM” AND ARE WE EXPANDING PROGRAMMING FOR THAT? WHY DO WE NEED MORE SPACE?
A child’s early years lay the foundation for success through high school and into post-high school opportunities. In recent years, researchers have learned that the majority of human brain development and the time when the brain is the most receptive to learning, happens between birth and three years of age. In fact, being exposed to new information and experiences at this young age is critical to a child’s brain development both cognitively and social-emotionally (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000).
Early education can play a critical role during this important developmental period and Greendale Schools in looking to expand its current early childhood program (half day 4 year old kindergarten) to include all day 4K and a half day 3K program. The renovations to create an early childhood center at Highland View would address this research and allow the District to develop a 3 year old program to ensure all students have equal access to these opportunities.
WHY ISN'T THE DISTRICT PURSUING THE FIELD HOUSE OR POOL AT THIS TIME?
The School Board decided not to pursue the new field house and the pool replacement projects based on the recommendation they received from the PCFAT. The results of the community-wide survey indicated that the majority of our community would not support these projects at this time. The District is proud of its commitment to obtain public input, while also being great stewards of taxpayer dollars. Both the Board of Education and the PCFAT listened to the community by honoring the results of the survey and not including the projects in the November 2018 referendum.
However, the District and the Board recognize that these projects are still important priorities to meet the academic and extracurricular needs of our students and our community, which is why they will remain top priorities in the District's Long-range Facility Plan.
HOW WILL THE PROPOSED PROJECT AT CANTERBURY IMPACT THE SCHOOL FOREST?
Greendale Schools state-certified School Forests are among the celebrated educational spaces in the District. The school district has worked closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to develop a forest enhancement plan, which is regularly reviewed for needed investment and improvement. In 2016, the Greendale Schools - District Forest was included in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Green Infrastructure of Schools Guidebook as a model for other local school districts. Along with our local and state partners in School Forest Program, we remain committed to continuous improvement of this great asset.
The proposed construction project at Canterbury Elementary will have an impact on a portion of the forest footprint immediately adjacent to the existing building. The District and its design and construction partners are committed to limiting this impact to the extent possible. Greendale Schools plans to work closely with Wisconsin School Forest Program administrators, WDNR and the Village arborist to track this project, and is committed to replacing two trees for every one impacted by this proposed project. Making significant improvements across the District is the overall intention of these projects and this includes the natural environment.
SHOULD THE REFERENDUM PASS, WHEN WILL CONSTRUCTION BEGIN AND WHEN WILL THE PROJECTS BE COMPLETED?
If the $33.8 million referendum passes in the November 6 election, the work would begin in the summer of 2019. Construction at all three elementary schools and GHS is projected to be underway during the 2019-2020 school year, beginning with site work and the installation of new HVAC systems in time for the 2019-2020 school year. Work in these four buildings is projected to be completed for the opening of the 2020-2021 school year. Work at Greendale Middle School would be completed during the summer of 2019 according to preliminary plans.
Greendale Schools and its construction partners are committed to maintaining safe learning environments and site access throughout the process. Pending the results of the election, school families, staff and the community will receive more detailed and frequent updates on the status of the construction process.
WHY AREN’T WE USING SAFETY GRANT FUNDS TO PAY FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS?
Safety grant funds awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Justice were used to purchase equipment that will enhance our current school safety program, including cameras for our elementary schools, a visitor management system to screen all visitors, and ballistic overlays to strengthen windows at school entrances. These funds were welcomed, but were not nearly enough money to provide the secure sequence entry configurations needed in two of our schools. Guidelines for those safety grants did not allow us to request funds for the additional parking lot and traffic flow and building interior facility safety improvements proposed in the referendum.
WHY IS NOW A GOOD TIME TO BORROW FOR THESE PROJECTS?
With low historically interest rates and the District's outstanding bond rating, now is the ideal time to borrow for these improvements. Waiting to borrow the funds in coming years, may increase the overall costs of the projects both in construction costs and debt interest.
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