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Parkview seeking feedback on referendums

ORFORDVILLE — Leaders in the Parkview School District are eager to hear what residents think about three possible referendums the district could face.

The district has identified three needs that could turn into three referendum questions as soon as November: Operating expenses, maintenance and technology improvements.

Residents are asked to fill out the survey included in the school's Parkview Voice newspaper mailed to each residence, or access the survey on the district Web site at www.parkview.k12.wi.us. The deadline to fill it out is Friday, May 29.

"We're looking for feedback from our community because we have some financial issues that we need to address in the near future," said Steve Lutzke, co-superintendent.

Administrators will present the results to the school board at its Monday, June 15, meeting.

The district would be prepared to go to referendum as early as November, but that would require a special election, he said. Other choices are February or April during scheduled elections.

If the district did nothing, residents would see a property tax decrease of 42 cents per thousand dollars of property value because a $290,000 referendum approved in 2004 for maintenance projects expires this year, he said.

"We could replenish some of our needs by just keeping the taxes the same," he said.

The possible referendum questions break down like this:

Operating expenses—Parkview is has a declining enrollment, which means declining state aid, Lutzke said.

The district won't be in "horrible" shape next school year, but a five-year budget forecast shows the district will face a shortfall of about $200,000 in 2010-2011, he said. The following year, the district would be short by $400,000, and if budget formulas and aid don't change, the district would face an $800,000 shortfall by 2014-2015.

The survey asks if residents would support exceeding the revenue limit by $400,000 per year to fund general operations at an estimated average yearly tax impact of $138 on a $150,000 property.

Maintenance—All of the district's four buildings are 40 years or older, Lutzke said. Projects including roof repair and locker room and bathroom updates would total $2 million to $2.5 million, he said.

About half of that cost would be spent on roofing. The junior/senior high school building needs a new roof and half of the roofs on the other buildings need repair.

Parkview could apply for zero-percent financing through money available in the federal stimulus package for building needs, Lutzke said.

"So the time is kind of opportunistic for us to look for money to do these repairs," he said. "And if you can borrow money at no-interest, that's about as good of a deal as you can ask for."

The survey asks residents if they support borrowing up to $2 million to address "highest priority" projects at an estimated average yearly tax impact of $54 on a $150,000 property

Technology improvements—The district wants to keep its schools competitive and up-to-date with changing technology, Lutzke said. It's looking for about $100,000 annually for five years to replace aging computers and add SMART Board interactive whiteboards to more classrooms, he said.

The survey asks residents if they would support exceeding the revenue limit by $100,000 per year for technology improvements at an estimated average yearly tax impact of $34.50 on a $150,000 property.