(Beaver Dam) The superintendent of the Beaver Dam Unified School District explained the fiscal implications of a referendum question that will appear on the November ballot. The school board recently approved the question, which involves $107 million.

About $87 million will be spent on replacing Beaver Dam Middle School, $13 million will be spent on modernizing Washington Elementary, and $7 million will be invested in district-wide facility improvements.

Superintendent Mark DiStefano says if the referendum passes this fall, it will result in an average increase of $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed value over the life of the loan.

“I think the $20 portion seems really practical … if people remember 2016, that tax effect is actually less than it was in the 2016 referendum,” DiStefano says. “The other reality is that if this passes, the rate our district taxes will still be below the rate when we return to the ’21-22 school year. So it’s not going to push us into a historic high.”

DiStefano points out that while $87 million is a large sum for a new middle school, that amount is likely to increase over the years.

“We know that the best time to build was probably yesterday… the second best time is to do it now… if we compare what we passed in 2016, which was a referendum for $48.9 million, those amounts are now closer to $90 million,” DiStefano says. “If we don’t pass a referendum this fall, a middle school that costs $87 million, for example, will cost between $135 and $150 million in 10 years.”

The superintendent adds that because of the large amount of work at the middle school, now is the time to act.

Throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall, the district will hold informational events to provide residents with more information about the referendum question. Events will be announced on the district’s website and social media channels.