LaCrosse considers Referendum

Published - Tuesday, October 09, 2007

By AUTUMN GROOMS, La Crosse Tribune

An owner of a $100,000 home could pay $36 to $117 more annually in
property taxes, depending on what the La Crosse School District
decides to ask for in a spring 2008 referendum.

The district unveiled those numbers at a special

La Crosse School Board meeting Monday as it approved questions for an
upcoming survey of district residents to gauge public opinion about
what the building and operating referendums should contain.

Superintendent Jerry Kember said the costs are preliminary and could
change depending on community response and what the school board
decides.

Board members said they will not decide on whether to proceed with the
April 1 referendums, or what they might contain, without community
input.

About 30,000 letters will be mailed throughout the district in the
coming weeks, asking residents to participate in an online survey "to
help establish future educational and facility plans."

The survey will ask about several long-term priorities in educational
programs and technology and building needs, and whether the public
would support a $20 million, $35 million, $50 million or

$65 million capital referendum to improve district facilities.

Also asked is whether residents would consider consolidating Franklin
Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary/ Coulee Montessori, both on the
city's North Side.

Options for the two schools in the survey include:

nLeaving the schools at their current sites and correcting building
deficiencies for an estimated $10.4 million;

nCombining the schools into an existing building that would be
renovated to add space, at an estimated cost of $12.9 million;

nCombining the schools into a new building at one of the current sites
for about $16.6 million, including construction and demolition.

Survey results should be back to the school board in November. Those
responses then will be used to determine the referendums' feasibility
and perhaps shape questions for the April 2008 ballot.

Information also will be gathered at public forums from 10 to 11:30
a.m. Saturdays, Dec. 8 and Jan. 12; and from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays,
Dec. 13 and Jan. 10.