Letter: Support The Wauwatosa Schools Referendum On Nov. 6

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On the Wauwatosa ballot is a $124.9 million school facilities referendum, which includes construction of four new and hybrid/new elementary schools replacing existing buildings, and upgrades for maintenance and HVAC systems, ADA accessibility, safety and security, and high school tech ed facilities.

These projects touch all buildings throughout the District to provide all students improved learning environments and air quality and comfort.

This referendum was adopted by the Wauwatosa School Board in August, after receiving a recommendation from the Facilities Advisory Committee, which spent 14 months meeting and studying the District’s buildings and future facilities needs. I was a Co-Chair of the FAC. These thoughts are solely my own; I do not speak for the District.

The referendum addresses the long-term facilities needs of the District. Its buildings are aging, averaging 75 years old, with the “youngest” 50 years old. Over the years, the mechanicals of these buildings have been maintained well beyond their useful life. In the future, as mechanicals age-out, the risk of emergencies increases, along with the cost of repairs. The proposed projects are intended to stem those increasing costs before they exceed the District’s ability to fund them.

The efficiencies from improved systems and new buildings are expected to generate budgetary cost-savings that can be reinvested in school facilities. Simply renovating four elementary schools instead of replacement, although less expensive in the short term than building new, would ultimately lose that cost savings, as over time, the costs of the old structures would exceed the cost of newly-built buildings.

The referendum contemplates retaining the nine elementary schools, replacing four of them, with repairs and upgrades to the other buildings. This provides flexibility should a different approach be preferred by future school boards, such as consolidation of schools.

Please be sure to vote on November 6.

Author: Lisa M. Lawless, Wauwatosa, WI

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