GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Residents in the Green Bay community may need to wait seven months longer than originally expected to learn the future of the Green Bay Area Public School District.
“It is our recommendation that the Board of Education plan for a possible November 2024 referendum to address facility needs,” GBAPS Superintendent Dr. Claude Tiller Jr. said.
GBAPS district officials explain their logic behind postponing a possible referendum for spring 2024 to next fall. (WLUK)
Some of the preliminary projects recommended for the referendum include a new west side elementary school, as well as security improvements and deferred maintenance at multiple schools.
At Monday’s board meeting, Dr. Tiller and other district officials explained their logic behind postponing a possible referendum for spring 2024 to next fall. According to a memo shared to the Board, there are several reasons.
According to District Director of Communications Lori Blakeslee:
“We’ll be wrapping up the November 2022 projects come this fall so folks will have an opportunity to really experience those projects. We have a strategic planning effort led by Dr. Tiller so we know that that will be a large engagement of our community to provide really some feedback on what they’d like the direction of the district to be. We did our survey and after reviewing the survey results we felt like there were some areas that obviously had a lot of support from our community and others that probably need more explanation, need more discussion.”
That survey indicated around 63% of respondents would support the referendum, but in a weighted score, just over 48% approved of the measure. According to Blakeslee, who was one of the memo’s writers, these factors — as well as a new boundary adjustment advisory committee — mean it makes more sense to wait.
“There may be things that come out of there that have a higher priority for our community than perhaps what we’ve already been looking at,” Blakeslee said. “So I would say that it could certainly change between now and when a future referendum is on the ballot.”
The total referendum price tag is about $150 million.
No action was taken at Monday’s meeting. The floor did open for discussion and one board member asked questions; however, no member indicated any stance.
