Referendum FAQs

Yes.  Two referendum questions will be on AHS residents’ November 5 ballots.
 

Question 1 asks for voter input on a $1.9 million operating referendum.  If approved, the proposal would permit AHS to spend $1.9 million annually for four years beginning in 2025-26 to fund operational costs. The referendum will replace the school’s current $1.7 million operational referendum, which expires at the end of 2024-25.  

Funding will be used to attract and retain staff in this competitive market, protect educational programming, keep pace with inflationary cost increases, and fund necessary maintenance and infrastructure needs.

Question 2 asks voters to consider a $261.2 million new high school, including a pool, theater, and indoor academic and co-curricular space.  If approved, the new high school will include:

• enhanced safety and security;
• elimination of inefficient, duplicate spaces;
• a new 8-lane competition pool (also for community use);
• a new 1,000-seat auditorium (also for community use);
• a new indoor space for academic, co-curricular, and community programming;
• flexible classrooms and labs with advanced technology and collaboration spaces;
• minimal impact on learning activities during construction.
   

The Board cannot borrow more than what the community authorizes, so the $261.2 million is a hard cap that includes all project construction costs, site work, fees, permitting, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. 
 

The interest rates used to calculate the estimated tax impact range from 4.25% to 4.50%.  A range is used because the project may be financed with multiple bond sales.
 

Yes. Once voters approve the referendum, EUA will begin the architectural design process for the new high school and campus. VJS Construction will serve as the construction manager.  VJS Construction was selected through a competitive RFP process that included reviewing and scoring responses from five firms.  The categories that were scored included: Firm and Team Qualifications, Project Approach, Costs/Fees, and Safety.  Three of the five firms were interviewed, with VJS scoring the best and being selected as the construction manager to manage the project.   All trade work required to build the project will be competitively bid after the project design is complete. The $261.2M is an estimate and a not-to-exceed number.

The district aims to maximize local involvement by allowing local subcontractors to bid on the entire project. The construction will be divided into multiple phases, covering major components such as masonry, concrete, paint, drywall, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, casework, and flooring. This phased approach provides opportunities for local subcontractors of various sizes to participate and win individual project components.
 

The South building was originally constructed 70 years ago and the North building dates back to 1969 (or 55 years ago).
 

Yes. The School Board considered options, including:

• performing only capital maintenance;
• retaining both buildings, with renovations and additions;
• consolidating to a single existing building, with renovations and additions;
• constructing a new high school without a pool or auditorium;
• construct a new high school with a pool and auditorium (selected option).

A community-wide survey indicated residents preferred the consolidation to a single school building. Further, all consolidation options were supported at approximately the same rate.
 

South and North buildings will require an estimated $143 million in capital maintenance over the next 25 years.  These capital maintenance costs DO NOT include the cost of renovations, expansions, or consolidation of academic or co-curricular spaces.  Constructing a new comprehensive high school provides a safer, more advanced learning environment that will serve students and the community for decades to come.
 

Wisconsin’s school funding system does not provide sufficient funding to pace with annual inflation, much less pay for large-scale capital projects.  The only way to fund a new school is to ask the taxpayers to authorize borrowing funds to do so.  Based on community feedback, the Board is providing citizens the chance to build a new high school that will:

• consolidate Arrowhead High School under one roof;
• improve safety and security;
• avoid the $143 million in capital maintenance costs;
• modernize the teaching and learning environments;
• invest in a community asset that will improve property values and increase student enrollment.

The football stadium, hockey rink, and basketball locker room facilities are excellent facilities.  However, these are all donor-funded projects.  Most locker rooms are rapidly aging, the gyms are too small and need serious maintenance, and the academic facilities are falling behind other area districts.  It has been 25 years since a significant investment has been made in Arrowhead's academic facilities and that was mainly for additional space with few facility improvements.
 

The design begins following the passage of a referendum.  A new high school can take 12 months or longer to draw up, and involves extensive conversations with stakeholders.  Until a referendum’s passage, architects and construction managers calculate square-foot space requirements and determine a not-to-exceed budget. 

If approved, when will the new school be completed?  The new school is estimated to be completed by Fall 2028.
 

Yes! While our primary focus will continue to be providing, first and foremost, for Arrowhead High School students, staff and families, we recognize that our facilities are also a significant community asset. It’s our intent for school district residents and others to utilize our buildings and grounds as a community hub, especially when school is not in session. If the referendum to build a new school is approved, we will have approximately four years of design and subsequent construction to revisit and update (if needed) our community use policies.
 

Following over a dozen community meetings and a community-wide survey, the School Board approved asking citizens to consider a new high school because it represents the best long-term option for the AHS community.  The community survey indicated the least support for continuing to spend millions of dollars on two old buildings.  The community support for three different approaches to consolidating the two buildings was almost identical, so the Board moved forward with the entirely new school option.  An entirely new school:

• provides a safe, secure learning environment;
• offers expanded recreational and artistic opportunities to the entire community;
• presents an opportunity to attract families to our community;
• is the most fiscally responsible investment of taxpayer money as
  • construction costs will only increase,
  • a single building will eliminate costly redundancies,
  • a new building will be far more energy efficient,
  • millions of dollars will NOT be spent on aging, out-dated facilities;
• is the least disruptive to the learning environment during the construction phase.
   

The existing North and South buildings will remain open during the construction of the new high school.  Constructing a new high school would have less negative impact on student learning compared to renovating an existing building. 
 

No. Please see the Press Release from October 30.
 

The proposed project includes the construction of a new high school building, complete with a pool and auditorium. It involves consolidating grades 9-12 into a single building on the current campus, razing the two existing buildings, and undertaking site work that includes replacing the fields used for physical education and athletics and restoring the site.

A preliminary program that establishes estimated square footage needs for specific areas was developed for this project with EUA through a series of staff interviews and meetings with the AUHSD administration. The new building, designed to serve approximately 2000+ students each year, will be approximately 555,000 square feet and feature classrooms, student service areas, a library and media center, special education spaces, cafeterias with commercial kitchens, and necessary administrative and district offices.The building will also house spaces for music, art, business, family and consumer services, health, physical education, and technical education programs.  Incorporating natural light into instructional spaces will be a high priority for the new building.

Additionally, it will include a 1,000-seat auditorium with a balcony, an eight-lane, 25-meter competition pool with a diving well and spectator seating balcony, and an indoor physical education facility. The design of spaces and furniture will be flexible to support various learning modalities, including student collaboration, one-on-one work, and individual focused work.

The site work will include new drives and parking lots to accommodate the proposed site plan, redevelopment of 2.5 practice soccer fields, one soccer stadium, two baseball fields, two softball fields, two lacrosse fields, and the relocation of four tennis courts. Traffic patterns will be designed to separate buses, student drivers, and student drop-off/pick-up areas to enhance flow and pedestrian safety. No work is planned for The Mullett Ice Center, Taraska Football Stadium, press box, track, and bleachers.
 

Yes. While our primary focus will continue to be providing, first and foremost, for Arrowhead High School students, staff and families, we recognize that our facilities are also a significant community asset. It’s our intent for school district residents and others to utilize our buildings and grounds as a community hub, especially when school is not in session. If the referendum to build a new school is approved, we will have approximately four years of design and subsequent construction to revisit and update (if needed) our community use policies.
 

EUA (Eppstein Uhen Architects) was chosen through a competitive process that involved the district receiving proposals from five firms, narrowing the list down to two finalists, and conducting interviews with the School Board members. The AUHSD Administration and Board selected EUA based on their multidisciplinary expertise, K12-specific planning and project experience, knowledge of our campus, and their fee proposal for both pre-referendum and post-referendum services. 

VJS Construction Services (VJS) will serve as the construction manager. VJS was also selected through a competitive RFP process that included reviewing and scoring responses from five firms. The categories that were scored included: Firm and Team Qualifications, Project Approach, Costs/Fees, and Safety. Three of the five firms were interviewed, with VJS scoring the best and being selected as the construction manager to manage the project. All trade work required to build the project will still be competitively bid after the project design is complete.
 

Yes. Once voters approve the referendum, EUA will begin the architectural design process for the new high school and campus. VJS Construction Services (VJS) will serve as the construction manager. All trade work required to build the project will still be competitively bid after the project design is complete. The $261.2M is an estimate and a not-to-exceed number.

The district aims to maximize local involvement by allowing local subcontractors to bid on the entire project. The construction will be divided into multiple phases, covering major components such as masonry, concrete, paint, drywall, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, casework, and flooring. This phased approach provides opportunities for local subcontractors of various sizes to participate and win individual project components.
 

School Perceptions was chosen through a competitive and public process that involved the district soliciting qualifications and fee proposals from two firms and the School Board conducting interviews with both firms. School Perceptions is an independent, third-party education research firm based in Wisconsin that serves school districts across the nation. In their 20-year history, they have conducted more than three million staff, student, parent and community surveys for school improvement, strategic planning, and public referendum/bond issue planning. Their inclusive survey methodology allows all school district residents to participate in the engagement process.