Oconto Falls forming new referendum committee

By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

The Oconto Falls School District is assembling a planning team to draft a revised referendum question to present to voters in November.

District residents in April rejected a $49.9 million proposal to build a new middle school for $31 million, replacing the aging Washington Middle School, along with remodeling and safety upgrades to the district’s three other school buildings. The question failed by a 54.8% to 45.2% margin.

Superintendent Dean Hess told the Oconto Falls School Board on June 20 that a special board meeting is planned July 11 in the high school Performing Arts Center to receive a survey conducted by consulting group School Perceptions to understand the factors that led to the voters’ decision.

Under state law, the board has until Aug. 30 to decide whether to place a revised plan before the voters on Nov. 8, Hess said. The new planning team is invited to the July 11 session and will hold its first meeting the following day.

“The team will consist of folks who were part of the past group, as well as new members, to assist in creating a proposal for you the board to consider,” he said.

The new proposal will be developed once the planning team has a chance to review the information from School Perceptions and other feedback from the community, Hess said.