Clintonville school referendum gets 58.3% approval

The Clintonville School District received the green light from voters Tuesday to proceed with its $37 million referendum project, which will allow it to reduce the number of campuses from three to two while creating some needed upgrades of the current middle and high school buildings.

Voters in Shawano and Waupaca counties gave their blessing to a project that officials promised would not increase taxes beyond the $10.74 rate property owners are currently paying in school taxes. The last debt payment for the current Clintonville High School will be paid this year.

The vote tally came to 2,538 in favor of the referendum and 1,816 against, a 58.3% approval for what Superintendent David Dyb has touted as “setting up the district for our future success.”

“I’m so excited for our students and our community’s future,” Dyb said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.

The numbers show consistent support in almost all of the communities that make up the district, especially the city of Clintonville, which cast 1,181 votes in favor compared with 685 against, and the town of Belle Plaine, which cast a two-to-one approval of 330 yes votes to 151 no votes.

Dyb said he was particularly impressed with how many people turned out for the election, which to him truly gauges whether district residents approve of the project. The district had opted for a referendum now instead of in April because voters are more likely to turn out when state and national races are on the line.

“It was very good to see the high voter turnout in the city of Clintonville, which the clerks told me was around 80% turnout,” Dyb said. “That speaks volumes about having an accurate depiction of our community.”

There were only two communities that had more votes against the referendum than for it, both of them in Waupaca County and both by thin margins. The Town of Union had 25 votes against the referendum and 20 for it, and the Town of Larabee cast 351 votes against and 333 in favor.

Dyb said the district plans to get to work immediately on finalizing architecture and design plans for the project, as well as working with financial advisers on establishing the terms for the municipal bonds that will pay for the construction and renovations.

“I’m totally excited about the opportunity,” Dyb said. “It’s going to be a great thing for Clintonville.”

can trim from here for print, if neededThe district will build a wing onto the high school that will house middle school students. The current Clintonville Middle School will become the elementary school after the district makes extensive renovations to make the classrooms suitable for younger children. Once those projects are finished, the district can sell the existing Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School, which is more than a century old and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Improvements for the middle school building include adding safety features, setting up climate-controlled rooms, turning the current parking lot into some green space, and creating new parking and play areas, according to Dyb.

At the high school building, in addition to creating the middle school wing, the district will be able to build a modernized agriculture science space with the amenities in one location. Currently, there is a tiny greenhouse in one corner of the school, ag classrooms in another area, and a science lab elsewhere is used for ag education.

The referendum will also provide larger art classrooms at the high school, along with a small addition to the school’s fitness center. The referendum also includes plans to create a secondary egress for the high school north of the building near the football fields to County Road D.

The middle school and high school renovations will be completed by August 2022, according to Dyb. Work on the current middle school to make it an elementary school will take place by August 2023.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com