School board member takes heat for opposing referendum

Clintonville School Board member Ben Huber was chastised by a school district resident Monday for opposing the $24.9 million referendum on the spring ballot Tuesday.

Voters will decide whether to spend the money to raze Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School and build a new elementary school on the South Clinton Avenue site.

Pat Danforth told Huber that he should not have stated publicly that he opposes the referendum after voting to hold it.

“You stated that the referendum was too expensive,” Danforth said. “You are just kicking the can down the road. Have you seen the mold, the cracked floor, the cracked stairwell and the catwalk (in the elementary school)? You were elected to support kids for this district. What changed?”

“The (ad hoc) committee had spoken, and I wanted to allow the people of the district to decide,” Huber said. “I did not think that we should spend $24.9 million in that manner. I didn’t support to spend money that way with so much interest up front.”

The Dellwood Early Learning Center would be closed under the plan, and the new school would house grades 4K-4. The district is considering options for the Dellwood building if the referendum passes.

A task force that studied elementary school needs in the district for several months recommended a new school as the best solution in November. A month earlier, a survey conducted for the school district found more residents supported building a new elementary school than renovating the current school. The school board approved the referendum proposal in January.

Huber said he would prefer spending up to $10 million to remodel the Rexford-Longfellow complex. He also has said residents had told him they would prefer waiting until the high school debt was paid, in 2022, before building a new school.

The referendum would cost the owner of a $150,000 home about $7,700 in property taxes during the 20-year payback, or an average of $385 a year, according to the school district.

Business manager Lynette Edwards agreed that the repayment plan was unusual, but it came from the district’s financial consultants who determned it was best for the district.

The district held two public informational sessions in March , and last week Edwards and Superintendent Tom O’Toole met with the media to explain the project’s financing.

“No one that wanted to served on the task force was turned away,” O’Toole said.

If the referendum is approved, design work should be completed by December, with bids sough in January and contracts awarded in February. Construction could begin in March, with completion expected in August 2019.

Demolition of the existing building would take place from June to August of 2019.

O’Toole said the district does not have a contingency plan if the referendum fails.

A section of the Rexford-Longfellow complex was built in 1918 as a high school. Additional classrooms were added in 1956. Classrooms and a gymnasium were added in 1964. A cafeteria was added in 1992, and offices were added in 1996.

The task force found that the structure needs tuck pointing, the windows and doors need to be repaired or replaced, a portion of the roof needs to be replaced, the heating system is aging, and parts of the building do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards or fire codes.

The Rexford-Longfellow infrastructure also does not support modern technology, according to a facilities assessment done by Bray Architects.

The 154,000-square-foot building is larger than what is needed to serve the current and projected student enrollment, and is more expensive to heat and operate due to age, the committee concluded.

At 104,000 square feet, the new building would be more energy efficient, with improved traffic flow and parking, according to school officials.

Information about the referendum can be found at www.clintonville.k12.wi.us.