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Press Release, August 13, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PORTAGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS REFERENDUM RESOLUTION
[Portage, WI] – On Monday, August 12, 2024, the Portage Community School Board voted to adopt a resolution to proceed with a $53,050 million referendum to be placed on the November 5, 2024, ballot. The School Board listened to the community, tailored our recommendation based on feedback, and developed a
solution we are confident in asking the community to support. This decision follows a discussion held Monday night, where the board unanimously approved adopting the resolution.
After discussion, Daniel Garrigan motioned and Sarah Johnson seconded the motion to adopt the formal resolution as follows: “Shall the Portage Community School District, Columbia, Marquette and Sauk Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general
obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $53,050,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of additions and renovations at the Middle School, including for classrooms, cafeteria and commons expansion; construction of an addition and renovations at the High School, including for a new aquatics facility, a multipurpose gymnasium, a secure entrance and parking lot; district-wide building infrastructure, systems and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?”
In April, School Perceptions, a third-party survey administrator, conducted a survey to measure the community’s priorities and willingness to financially support building and educational improvements. Using community feedback, the current November 2024 Facilities Improvement Referendum question reflects the
desire for a more affordable referendum. “We are committed to doing right by our community members, both in terms of fiscal responsibility and
providing essential upgrades to our facilities to maintain safe schools for our students,” says District Administrator Josh Sween. “We will also engage local subcontractors throughout the construction process to keep taxpayer dollars in Columbia, Marquette and Sauk Counties, and putting our residents to work.”
Throughout the summer and fall, the Portage Community School District will host informational presentations to provide residents with detailed information about the referendum question. The presentations will be announced on the district website and social media channels. For more information, please contact Josh Sween, District Administrator at (608) 742-4879 or visit the district website at www.portage.k12.wi.us.
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After hours of Future Facilities Committee Meetings and planning sessions with Plunkett Raysich Architects, CG Schmidt, Baird Financial Services and School Perceptions, the Portage Community School District has the community survey results generated from all of these meetings...
School Perceptions presented the survey findings to the PCSD School Board at a recent meeting. Their presentation is attached below.
PCSD Administrator Sween has also recorded a video review of the survey information - that video has been emailed to district families, was shared via the district's Facebook page, and can also be found on his webpage, District Administrator's Communication.
School Perceptions Community Survey Report, May 21, 2024
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The Portage Community School District has developed a PCSD Future Facilities Committee. Any and all members of the Portage Community were invited to attend any of these meetings.
Since our last FFC meeting in April, the district has contracted the services of Plunkett Raysich Architects and CG Schmidt as a general contractor to help us continue the work started last school year. We are also working with Baird Financial Services regarding the finance aspects of the project and School Perceptions will be generating our community survey.
Their presentation slides from the September 20, October 18, November 15, December 13, 2023 and January 24, 2024 meetings are linked below.
Presentation 1 24 2024 |
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Earlier meeting presentations are linked below. Most associated meeting notes can be accessed via the Committee Notes link on this page. Please watch your email, the website, and our social media pages for upcoming scheduled meetings.
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Portage Community School District families received the following email regarding the recently completed Facility Audit of all campus buildings and properties. For the complete report, please click the Facility Audit link to the right (if viewing on a laptop or desktop computer) or at the bottom (if viewing on a phone or tablet).
July 13, 2021
PCSD Families,
As the Portage Community School District continues to move forward and ventures to provide our students, staff and community with the best environment for learning and success, it is often necessary to make difficult decisions. However difficult these decisions may be, there are always added benefits and positives that are important to focus on as well. With that being said, I would like to share with you an action that was taken by the PCSD Board of Education at the Monday, July 12 meeting.
First, as many of you know, being good stewards of our facilities and continuing to stay fiscally responsible is very important to the PCSD. In order to carry out these two functions it is important to know where we are and develop a plan for the future. In an effort to do just that, the district contracted CESA 10 Facilities Management to provide a comprehensive facility audit of all buildings and grounds. They were very thorough with their inspections and conducted many interviews with school staff. At the regular board meeting in May, the team from CESA 10 gave an initial assessment to the school board outlining the critical areas in need of improvement and a timeline for when these areas would need to be addressed. At the June board meeting, they presented the board with a comprehensive, 134 page facility audit of the Portage Community School District. The facility audit included space availability reports as well as the cost estimates to address critical areas in need of immediate attention. Throughout this entire process all options were on the table, and the administrative team worked on developing a forward thinking plan to address the needs of the school district and the community.
During the Finance, Facilities & Transportation Committee on Monday, July 12, a plan to address the future of facilities in the PCSD, taking into account the CESA 10 Facility Audit, was approved for recommendation to the full board. This plan was again discussed at the regular board meeting and was ultimately approved. The following outlines the future of facility stewardship and fiscal responsibility for the PCSD:
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The Portage Community School District will retire Julia Rusch Elementary following the 2021-2022 school year.
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Students and staff at Julia Rusch Elementary will be consolidated into John Muir Elementary and Woodridge Primary Schools.
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Areas of critical concern at Woodridge Primary, John Muir Elementary, Bartels Middle School, Portage High School, Lewiston Elementary, and Endeavor Elementary will be addressed during the spring and summer of 2022.
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The Portage Community School District will continue to operate the pool until such time as an alternative becomes available.
It is important to provide rationale for the decision to move forward with this plan of action, because we are focused on creating stronger schools for now, and the future of the Portage Community School District.
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The PCSD is a declining enrollment school district.
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The PCSD has space available for consolidation within our campus schools with minimal upgrades to those facilities.
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The educational benefits of having one primary school and one elementary school on the campus allows for the allocation of timely resources and better collaboration.
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It is fiscally responsible to absorb the operational costs from the retirement of Julia Rusch Elementary to address the needs of other facilities in the district.
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Julia Rusch Elementary is the oldest facility in the PCSD and is in need of significant repair. (The cost to address the critical areas of need in this one building are more than double the cost of addressing the critical areas of need in all other buildings in the district).
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Due to a history of fiscal responsibility and continued preparation for the future, the PCSD can address the critical areas in need of improvement at all other facilities without a referendum.
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The PCSD is confident that there will not be a need for reduction in staffing due to this plan.
Change is never easy, but I firmly believe that without it there is no opportunity for growth. Not everyone is going to agree with these decisions, but my hope is that everyone in the PCSD can trust that these decisions are made with the best intentions to provide a path forward for the success of everyone in the Portage Community. Together we can and will continue to move this district forward. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Go Warriors!
Joshua D. Sween
District Administrator
Portage Community School District
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