YES 4 Now!
5 Reasons to Vote YES 4 Now!
Now is the time! We’ve all heard it before. But why is now such a critical time for this referendum? There are many factors driving this referendum and timeline. For those that were part of the Facilities Study Committee and other Board of Education meetings, it is clear that now is the time for the following 5 reasons.
- Each School Needs Immediate Attention
The Facilities Study Committee, or FSC, has identified all the needs of each of the facilities in the Mayville School District. The Infrastructure Sub-committee has identified all critical facility infrastructure needs to great detail. Many critical systems are years beyond their useful life. Some systems, like the HVAC at the high school have not operated correctly for decades. These systems are hurting our operating budget and need repairs now. Delays only put the School District at risk of a catastrophic failure that could cripple budgets for years to come.
- Our Students Are in Unfavorable Learning Environments
Our primary responsibility is in providing our students the best education that we can afford. To do this, we expect a lot of our students and expect them to work very hard in their educational duties. Today, these students are constantly dealing with HVAC issues in each facility that are struggling with either keeping up or overheating areas during the winter months. We expect our students to test well, yet many are wearing winter coats or bringing blankets to their classes and tests in the winter months. If we want our students to perform better, we need to provide them with better learning environments now!
- Mayville High School is 53 Years Old
The original architectural design for the High School is said to have been planned based on a California school layout. It basically has not been touched (except for a small classroom space addition) since it was built in 1964. This means that it does not have many of the new technologies incorporated into it that have been developed since the 1960’s. The time is now for change! We need to bring our high school up to the 21st Century!
- Interest Rates are Rising
Just this month, the Feds raised interest rates. While small, it is a sign of things to come as our economy returns to a more-normal condition. Each time they raise rates, the true cost of making improvements increases dramatically. This trend will only continue in the years to come. We may never see interest rates this low again in our lifetimes. We must take advantage of this now. Delaying again will cost taxpayers millions more in interest in a few short years when coupled with increases in construction costs.
- Construction Cost Increases Millions for Each Year of Delay
Construction costs have been reported by Baird, Findorff and Bray to be in excess of 3% per year. This means that we will only be able to afford less with our tax dollars in the future. The issue is compounded with interest. We cannot fix all that is needed for facility repairs through an operating budget. It must be done in a large referendum due to the age of facilities. Each year we delay, the amount of repairs and cost of repairs increases. We need to take care of our facilities now to keep the costs in check.
Every year we delay, we are not only able to do less with the same money, but we are holding back our students and our community.
Vote YES 4 Now on April 4th to avoid larger issues in the future!
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