MONROE — The results are in. The School District of Monroe will be building their new high school on the 70-acre B&S property. 

In a special meeting of the electors Monday night, 1,730 voters registered, 1,726 votes counted (2 spoiled), with 1,064 saying ‘yes’ to approve the location, compared to 660 ‘no’ votes. 

“This is the official hurdle we needed to pass,” said Rodney Figueroa, Monroe Superintendent. “I’ve been here a year. When I was looking at the district and interviewing, what we saw tonight — the community getting behind and supporting the kids — that’s the community I experienced when I first came here.”

Had the voters said ‘no’ to B&S, the existing site would have been used instead.

“I think folks had a very clear decision to make. The building is going to be built — we just needed to know where it is going to be. The results speak for themselves,” said Rich Deprez, Board of Education President.

The difference in percentage (61.7-38.3%) this time was nearly reversed from the previous meeting, in which voters said no (62-38%) to a 70-acre plot of land just north of the city on County DR.

Voters were called to a third vote to acquire land since they passed an $88 million referendum in the Nov. 2022 midterm election. In Dec. 2022, 77-acres of land at the B&S site, located on the far east side of Monroe off of County KK and 31st Avenue, failed to pass. In March 2023, while litigation against the district tried to halt the referendum, about 1,500 voters descended upon the high school, voting down the 70-acre Donny property on County DR north of the industrial park. 

At stake this time was a slightly smaller 70-acre version at the B&S site versus the existing site, which is only 45 acres. The owners of the B&S site not only dropped their asking price for the land, but proposed what is essentially a land swap. 

First, the land will have to be checked for an array of contingencies. If that element passes, the district will buy the B&S property and begin construction on the new high school. Once completed, with students, staff and furnishings all moved in, the existing site and all of its remaining buildings will then be sold to B&S as-is for the same price. B&S will then be on the hook for any demolition of the building, saving the district nearly $2 million on top of the savings for land cost.

“If the B&S site is not viable, the district will then construct an amazing school on the existing site,” said Rick Waski, former Monroe Superintendent.

Waski retired in Spring 2022 due to health issues. He had been on the project since the beginning, and Figueroa took over the reins in the summer of 2022. 

“I remember interviewing firms for a facilities study in the summer of 2017. Six years later we finally know where this process is taking us and that is fulfilling,” Waski said. 

Waski was a vocal supporter of the B&S site, and firmly believes the project will go down as a success for the city as time passes.

“The biggest reason I supported the B&S site is it includes more land and allows the building and facilities to be laid out in a manner that makes sense functionally as opposed to placing things where they fit in an existing framework,” Waski said. “I am excited to see the district and community moving forward with fully evaluating this site for the construction of what will be the best high school in southern Wisconsin.”

Deprez said the overwhelming difference between yes-and-no votes is comforting, given the divisiveness of the entirety of the project.

“I’m really excited for a couple of reasons. I think this will really help our community focus and move towards a common goal. A lot of the strife that’s been coming out through this process now can be shifted towards a common location,” he said. “We’re building a high school, and we’ve got a lot of work to do there to make sure the high school reflects what the community wants. I feel like tonight provides that closure so we can make that progress.”

While there was vocal opposition during the lead-up to the original referendum last fall, the $88 million question passed by 9%, a relatively sound victory for an election. The district had promoted the B&S site as the future home during the campaign.

But when tax bills rolled out the weekend before the first meeting of the electors in mid-December, property taxes were higher than most people expected, largely in part to the equalization determined by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

Many residents felt deceived and that district officials and the school board weren’t forthcoming in the information they presented. With more questions than answers, the first meeting of the electors vote on the B&S site failed. 

Grumblings online turned into a coordinated effort in a Facebook group that quickly grew to over 1,000-people strong, with residents from across the area asking questions and venting.

At the same time, the district kept working to move forward with another site — the Donny property on County DR. Eventually, four residents crowd-sourced funding for a lawyer and sued the district and school board. 

Distrust in the board and school district reached a breaking point at the meeting of the electors in March. Over 1,500 people cast a vote, with nearly 2/3 saying no to the Donny property. The next day, school board member Teri Ellefson resigned from her post, citing her mental and emotional health following months of vitriolic online discourse and a barrage of messages sent to board members, including threats to board members and their families.

The district then paused the referendum to let the litigation play out. In May, Green County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Vale sided with the district, which then had to figure out their next course of action.

Three new board members joined during this time: Mike Froseth, Jr. and Terri Montgomery were each elected in April, and Jim Curran was selected by the board in early June. 

Throughout this time, the Donny property was still under contract, but board members sought more public input, despite the ire still ruminating online. Many in the public didn’t want the district to buy new land at all, instead to build the new school on the existing site, despite being much smaller in acreage than needed for the sports complex, and that the ground below the surface played a large role in the quick deterioration of the foundation of the 2000 additions.

The board then began planning to send out a survey to gauge public opinion, but needed to come to an agreement with another site — or more — in order to not give ground in negotiations. The existing site then became the default backup option.

“Time is of the essence. When people ask if we could look at other properties or when we needed to switch, it was a 3-4 month wait. It’s not just a (land) contract, it’s a negotiation, then there’s the contingencies,” Figueroa explained. “Time is money. Another four months could be another million dollars or two we lose to inflation. By doing this now, we will get a shovel in the ground this next spring.”

The Donny family renegotiated its contract, knocking off about a half-million dollars. Despite the early bond interest that raised more than $6 million to cover inflationary costs, the Donny property was projected to still come in over budget. The existing site, meanwhile, was projected to be just under budget.

“Thank goodness that Mr. (Ron) Olson had the foresight to invest that money early with Baird, because that $6.3 million (earned on interest since December) is what’s going to help inflationary costs,” Figueroa said.

When negotiations with the B&S owners rekindled, a new option arose: The land swap. 

The projected savings on the land and razing of the old building put the projected total project costs as less than building on the existing site, despite needing to spend more money on site work costs, a lift station and a nearly mile-long driveway. The district would also gain an extra 25 acres for the sports complex and have potential room for further expansion in the future.

Given the new information, the board unanimously decided to scrap the survey and end the contract with the Donny property. Then they scheduled an informational meeting for July 10, and the meeting of the electors for a week later.

A fresh campaign to promote the pros of the B&S site stuck with voters, which came out in force to end the nearly year-long delay. 

Had the first B&S vote in Dec. 2022 passed, ground would have already broken. Instead, the project will be drawn out a full year.

“I have total faith in the BOE to make the right decisions moving forward,” Waski said.

The district will now begin planning in earnest, checking the site to make sure it is viable. Construction is slated to begin in Spring 2024, and be completed around Dec. 2025.

During construction, high school and Abraham Lincoln Elementary students will have as normal an educational experience as the classes before them, the district wrote on a press release on July 18. 

Included is the continuation of extra-curricular activities with a normal practice and home competition schedule — which are at risk should the district have to build on the current site. CG Schmidt and PRA architects determined the best place to put a high school on the current property would be over the football and baseball fields, rendering them unusable during construction. 

In fact, all outdoor sports would have to move practices and competitions elsewhere. With B&S selected as the new site, those activities issues are no longer relevant.

“I know there are people opposed to it, and there are good people that are opposed to it, and they have their reasons. But, one thing that I know for sure is that this is going to benefit everybody in the community,” Figueroa said. “This is how we are going to go forward and help the community grow and move to the future.

“We just updated the costs on June 12 to adjust for inflation. There’s not going to be any surprises in there for when we need to adjust for our budget. Will the things change while the project is going on? Sure. Sometimes steel is high, sometimes it’s low. Sometimes concrete is high — that’s just a part of it. But we just had this updated a month ago.”