GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A $92.6 million referendum could lead to expanded commons, upgrades to athletics and more.
District Chief Operations Officer Josh Patchak says there’s slight changes to this latest proposal.
A $92.6 million referendum could lead to expanded commons, upgrades to athletics and more throughout the Green Bay Area School District.
“This is laid out a little bit differently than it has been in the past,” said Patchak.
Patchak says district-wide delayed projects, energy efficiency and student safety are all part of the proposed November referendum.
That would cost $43.4 million.
“LED lights are kind of going in anywhere. We kind of took advantage of not having students in our building during COVID to replace a lot of our lights with LED lights,” Patchak said. “So, those are ways that we are also conserving energy.”
A majority of the funds, $48 million to be specific, would go toward secondary school upgrades. That includes stadium upgrades at Preble, such as adding turf, and resurfacing the tennis courts at Southwest High School.
And Preble could also be adding eight new classrooms.
This new proposal is more detailed than the one in May.
“I think in the past, you’ve probably just seen athletic and performance spaces or something like that,” Patchak said. “Here it’s really laid out what comprises that $48 million in secondary school upgrades.”
Playground improvements around Green Bay would cost $1.2 million, bringing the total cost of the referendum to $92.6 million.
When it comes to the secondary school upgrades, Patchak says most of those could be used by the entire community.
“Auditoriums are available for rental. The cost for rental the board just approved a month and a half ago to break even, to keep them clean and safe for us,” said Patchak. “Along with our outdoor facilities are also available for rent.”
Those rentals are for events, but community members can use outdoor facilities like the track for free.
The school board is expected to make a final decision on whether to move forward at its July 25th meeting.
