Advertisement “I’d say this crowd was about twice as large as the one we had three years ago before the last referendum,” said School Board President Rod Hundt.
Both Hundt and school Superintendent Roger Foegen, seemed pleased with the turnout, the tone of the meeting and the questions asked afterward.
Foegen began the meeting by emphasizing that, contrary to what some people might have heard, the two referendum questions are unrelated. One has to do with borrowing $580,000 at no interest for the demolition of the old high school while preserving a gym that receives plenty of use. The other asks to renew for three more years the current $350,000 annual override of the state revenue caps that voters agreed to in the last referendum.
Foegen was followed by Mike Seichter of Market & Johnson, the contractor for the recent middle school/elementary school renovation. Last fall Market & Johnson did an analysis of the cost of demolishing the old high school while preserving the gymnasium. Seichter explained what kind of work would be done if the $580,000 project were approved.
In addition to new changing rooms, new bathrooms and new entryways would be built adjacent to the gym. There would be no shower rooms and the gym floor and the stage would be left untouched.
Foegen said the district had studied the usage of the gym and was surprised at how heavily it is used. “There’s something in here just about every night,” Hundt said.
Foegen also noted that the gym floor is newer than the building as a whole because it was replaced with insurance money after a 1994 storm that tore part of the roof off and damaged the existing floor.
The demolition of the old high school (which will have to be done sooner or later) will cost $250,000 to $300,000 regardless of when it is done.
“The cost of removing the asbestos alone is $40,000,” Foegen said, “but a new gym would cost us roughly $1 million today — so we would be getting a pretty good deal there.”
Asked how long the project would last, Seichter estimated between two and three months. “It would probably be a summer job,” he said.
Next up was Brian Brewer of Robert W. Baird of Milwaukee, the district’s financial adviser. Brewer began by giving a brief history of the question of what to do with the old high school (the second question on the referendum).
“It’s been an issue for you for 12 years and it was an issue three years ago,” Brewer said. “Back then, we were dealing with the middle school/elementary school renovations, and it was not a good time to deal with the old high school as well.”
Brewer then explained how federal stimulus funds — officially called “Qualified School Contribution Bonds” — have changed the playing field because of the zero percent loans offered as part of the package.
“You’re nearing the final three to four years in your investment in the middle school,” Brewer said. “Your final payment is in 2014-15. From there, you will have a significant drop in payments.”
While ordinarily it is not a good idea to delay paying back a loan, Brewer said this case was an exception. “You could wait to begin paying back the $580,000 until after your debt load drops in 2014. That gives you the chance to address something now that’s been out there 12 years, yet wait 5 years before beginning to pay for it.”
Brewer added that the normal interest cost for carrying a loan of that size would range between $200,000 and $300,000. When an audience member asked whether the district had applied for the stimulus funds yet, Brewer explained that the district did not have the authority to apply until the community weighed in on the matter.
Brewer then addressed the other referendum question, explaining that, in essence, it was about the operating budget for the district. He said that, like many other school districts, Bangor is facing a structural deficit caused by declining state funds and declining enrollments.
“We (Robert W. Baird) ran a forecast for the next four years and that structural deficit remains,” he said. “The easiest thing the board could have done was ask for a stepped increase for each successive year, but given the economy, they felt that $350,000 was all they could ask voters for.”
If the override is approved, the additional estimated cost to taxpayers would be $0.78 per $1,000 of property value for the 2009-2010 school year, $0.39 per $1,000 for the 2010-2011 school year and $0.13 for the 2011-2012 school year.
According to Brewer, Bangor is not alone in facing tough financial straits. Last year 50 school districts scheduled referendums to override revenue caps. As Bangor is doing with its referendum question, 36 of the 50 opted to ask for a non-recurring override.
In other words, the $350,000 override, if approved, would be good for only three years and not permanent. Brewer suggested that a non-recurring resolution was better because it can be revisited if conditions change.
“When you go with recurring, you’re basing it on facts that are hard to predict,” he said. Voters passed the revenue override by a 684-217 vote during the last referendum.
Meanwhile, Foegen acknowledged that while the district has already made more than $600,000 in budget cuts, even if the $350,000 override is approved further cuts will have to be made.
Before the meeting, many residents took advantage of the opportunity to tour the old high school. With peeling paint, drooping and broken fixtures and some walls marred with graffiti, it was obvious the building has seen better days. During a question and answer session near the end of the meeting someone asked Hundt what could be done with the old high school if voters did not approve the $580,000 for the project.
“At this point,” he said, “we have no other prospects.
Advertisement 
