Kewaunee School District to host referendum open houses

KEWAUNEE – The Kewaunee School District is hosting two referendum open houses in advance of the April 1 referendum. The District is presenting school district residents with a $24.5 million capital referendum question for a school building and facility improvement project.

Attendees are welcome to stop in at either of the two referendum open houses to ask questions regarding the proposed April 1 referendum plans; representatives from the district and their partners will be in attendance. The District encourages all residents to visit the school buildings and tour the current spaces; for additional opportunities for building tours, please contact Superintendent Scott Fritz.

Referendum open houses will be held at the following dates and times; both open houses are informal, and attendees are welcome to stop in at any time during the windows of time listed below. Tours will be given at varying increments throughout the evening. Both events will be held at Kewaunee School District, located at 915 Third Street, Kewaunee.

Wednesday, March 12: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 18: 5:30-7 p.m.

On April 1, the Kewaunee School District will ask residents permission to borrow up to $24.5 million for a school building and facility improvement project. The proposed improvements include:

•Prioritized capital maintenance improvements

•Classroom renovations to accommodate space needs of 3K, 4K and Kindergarten programs, including shifting eighth grade students to underutilized space at the high school

•Targeted general classroom updates

•Visual and Performing Arts classroom renovations

•New student/event entrance

•Renovations and expansion of locker rooms and support spaces

•Renovation and expansion of kitchen and cafeteria

•Expansion of the agricultural building and surrounding asphalt for additional transportation support space and outdoor bus parking

•Acquisition of furnishings, fixtures, and equipment

Over the past year, the Kewaunee Board of Education and Administration has been assessing and evaluating options to address facility needs that are too large to be covered by the District’s annual operating budget. The District began its long-term planning efforts by conducting a comprehensive facilities assessment to identify maintenance needs and evaluate educational adequacy across its facilities. During the planning process, the Kewaunee School District and Board of Education actively sought stakeholder input through a community-wide survey in fall 2024. The valuable feedback provided by district residents led the Board to the final referendum scope, adopted at the Jan. board meeting.

The proposed improvements will impact every student in the district and invest primarily in the district’s existing facilities. Detailed information about the proposed referendum projects, including preliminary site plans, are available on the District’s website. For any questions, please contact Superintendent Scott Fritz at (920) 388-3230 or via email at sfritz@kewaunee.k12.wi.us.

Referendum ballot question:

Shall the Kewaunee School District, Kewaunee and Manitowoc Counties, be authorized to issue, pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $24,500,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project consisting of district-wide renovations; capital maintenance; classroom and building infrastructure improvements; construction of additions and renovations to Kewaunee High School, including for expansion of the kitchen/cafeteria, a student and event entrance and physical education/athletic locker room support space and construction of an addition to the agricultural building for a transportation support building; acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment and other site improvements?