The magic number is $21.5 million

Cedar Grove-Belgium School District residents are expected to receive a community survey in the mail next month designed to gauge support for $21.5 million of improvements at the elementary, middle and high schools.

The School Board last week unanimously approved the final draft of the survey with a few clerical revisions.

The price tag for the referendum, tentatively slated for April 2022, would put the district tax rate at $9.04 per $1,000 of equalized value, meaning the owner of a $200,000 home would pay $1,808 in school taxes, $88 more than now.

The Committee of the Whole, which includes all the School Board members, last month went over the wording and other details of the survey developed by Slinger-based School Perceptions, which has worked with many districts on facility planning questionnaires.

The survey presents infrastructure and other upgrades and asks if people would support each set of plans.

At the elementary and middle school, building systems, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems original to when the building was constructed in 1962, would be replaced. A new traffic flow system would be implemented to improve safety, and a music room would be added.

The middle school kitchen would be upgraded, and the band and gym bleachers would be updated to Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

The pool and auditorium would also be upgraded.

The total cost of the elementary and middle school work is $14.5 million.

At the high school, the technical education and family and consumer science areas would get improvements and the roof and floors would be replaced. New water heaters, boilers and ventilation systems would be installed, and internet infrastructure would be updated.

High school improvements cost $7 million.

The survey asks two additional questions: whether people would support building a new auditorium for $8.9 million and a new pool for $9.1 million.

An auditorium would cost $152 more per year for the owner of a $20,000 home, and a pool would cost $156 more.

According to the survey timeline, district staff members are expected to receive the survey late this month, and the community would get surveys via mail in early October.

If voters approve a $21.5 million referendum, the tax rate would be 44 cents higher than the current rate of $8.60 and a penny higher than the 2019-20 rate of $9.03.

The district’s tax rate has fallen in each of the last six years, from $10.30 in 2015 to $8.60 this year.

The financial impact of the referendum is lessened thanks to debt falling off from a previous loan.

The district could spend $16.6 million and keep the tax rate at $8.60.

A financial presentation made a couple of years ago by Lisa Voisin, managing director of Robert W. Baird of Milwaukee, that highlighted the debt reduction sparked the idea for a referendum.

The district hired Bray Architects to do a facility study and develop building upgrade plans.

Two community forums were held in spring to present the facility plans and provide school building tours.