Posted: Sept. 9, 2009

The Whitefish Bay School Board on Tuesday agreed to present two referendum questions to voters on the November ballot.

The district needs to address urgent maintenance, safety and security, technology and space needs, according to a news release.

Both questions that the board will present to the community are designed to address two separate but urgent sets of facility needs. The estimated costs of the referendums are $9 million and $13 million.

Under the $9 million Stewardship Solution, the goal is to improve the safety and security of the school buildings and to meet general building infrastructure needs. Because the cost of this option replaces existing debt that is retiring, community members would not see an increase in their property taxes, the release said.

In the Education Improvement Solution, which will cost about $13 million, district leaders hope to address critical space issues. The property tax impact would be about $250 per year for an average home assessed at $350,000.

The options resulted from a facilities study that began in 2007. The study prioritized the district's needs and developed a series of options for addressing them.