Lake Country This Month

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I reached out to a half- dozen school leaders, asking what initiatives and changes they were anticipating for 2015. And, as if on cue, everyone responded similar- ly — somewhat puzzled by the question, followed by a kind reminder that schools operate on an August-to- June calendar, not a Jan- uary-to-December one, so "the new year" in their world wouldn't really start for another seven months or so. Fair enough. But, given that most of the world considers Jan. 1 to be the mark of a new year, I went forward with the story anyway. And here we are again — at the beginning of 2016 — and it seems fitting again to forecast what it holds for area schools. Here are some issues I'll be keeping tabs on this year. Referendums Referendum appears to be the word of 2016, with sever- al districts looking to approach voters with ques- tions in April and November. Among them is the Muk- wonago Area School Dis- trict, with the board recently agreeing to put two referen- dum questions on the April ballot, including a $49.5 mil- lion plan and a $350,000 annual operating referen- dum. Muskego-Norway and Menomonee Falls have like- wise laid the groundwork for April referendums, while Oconomowoc and Arrow- head seem to be setting their aim on November. From district to district, the reasons for going to ref- erendum are fairly uniform — it's hard to keep up with maintenance needs, make facility improvements and even cover operational costs amid declining enrollment and state-imposed revenue limits. It doesn't appear to be just a Waukesha County thing, either. The number of dis- tricts going to referendum has doubled from 2009 and 2014 across the state. Recent referendums in the county have seen varying levels of success. But, with Kettle Moraine's $49.6 mil- lion referendum still fresh in memory, perhaps voters are more amenable to spend- ing on schools in a post- recession climate. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have put forth a plan that would limit a dis- trict's ability to approach voters with referendum questions, though it has seen significant opposition from the education commu- nity. New faces The 2015-16 school year kicked off with new faces in some key positions. Two dis- tricts welcomed new super- intendents — Laura Myrah in the Arrowhead Union School District and Liesl Ackley in the North Lake School District. Long-time Hamilton School District Superinten- dent Kathleen Cooke recent- ly announced her plans to retire at the end of the school year after 23 years of leading the district. And in Waukesha, South High School will be getting a new principal, as Timothy Joynt leaves the school this month for an administrative position with the Shorewood School District. That news comes after the Waukesha School District saw several building leader- ship changes at the outset of this year, with five elemen- tary schools getting new principals and Becky New- comer beginning her first full year as North High School's principal. School Board election This spring's School Board election promises to be an interesting one, with five candidates pursuing three spots on Waukesha's board. The seats of board members Ellen Langill, William Baumgart and Steve Edlund are up for election. While Edlund won't be seeking another term, Baumgart and Langill will be. It appears they'll face some competition from new- comers though, including Greg Deets, a former Heyer Elementary School princi- pal and current Palmyra- Eagle Area School District teacher; Amanda Medina- Roddy, a district parent who narrowly missed a spot on the board last year; and dis- trict resident Gretchen Budde. State changes Last year, schools said "hello" and "goodbye" to the new Badger Exam in pretty short order. The exam, which tested students in math and reading and was aligned to the controversial Common Core state stan- dards, lasted just one testing season before being thrown out in the state's 2015-17 bud- get. The state has since chosen a vendor to administer the new test, called the Wiscon- sin Forward Exam, which will be administered to 3-8th grade students this spring. Results from the one-time Badger Exam still haven't been released. And even if they were, they wouldn't allow for much year-to-year comparison. So, as Wauke- sha Superintendent Todd Gray noted in a recent end- of-the-(calendar)-year inter- view, it's hard to know which direction achieve- ment trends are going. Meanwhile, districts are gearing up for another man- date handed down from the state, which requires all high schoolers to pass a civics test in order to gradu- ate. Starting with the class of 2017, students must take a 100-question test patterned after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization test and answer at least 60 correctly. School leaders say that most of the information is covered in American history classes. But, still, it's anoth- er test on students' — and teachers' and administra- tors' — pretty full plates. Also, as an aside, I tried the test and, I must say, it's been awhile since I've had to recall the authors of the Fed- eralist Papers. (Lauren Anderson is The Freeman's education reporter) Email: landerson@conleynet.com LAUREN ANDERSON City of Pewaukee seeks input on paint job for new water tower By Lauren Anderson Freeman Staff CITY OF PEWAUKEE — What color should the city's new water tower be? Blue? Green? Pewaukee Pirate-inspired black, white and red? If you have an opinion on the matter, the city is seek- ing your input. An online survey is avail- able now until Jan. 31 for residents to weigh in on the new paint job. A paper ballot is also available at City Hall, W240-N3065 Pewaukee Road. The three paint schemes include a dark blue base with a light blue top and dark blue lettering, a forest green base with a light green top and forest green letter- ing, and a black base with a white top and red lettering. After voting closes, the Common Council will make a decision based on the feed- back at a February meeting. The city has released the survey in response to Alder- man Brandon Bergman's suggestion during a Novem- ber council meeting. The city recently contract- ed the paint job to Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, an Indiana-based company, for $2.35 million. It was the low- est of three bids. Construction will begin soon on the new water tower next to the existing tower on the city hall site, and is expected to last 18 months. The existing tower will not be dismantled and removed until the new tower becomes operational. The current water tower has gained a certain notori- ety in the community, as its rusty exterior is often viewed as an eyesore. Jeffrey Weigel, director of Public Works, said the tower has been on his radar for more than two decades. "It's been a point of dis- cussion for the 23 years I've been here — it's been rusty since then," he said. "It's probably the most asked question when people come into the office — 'When are you going to do something about it?'" Those eager to see the new, more visually appealing col- ors will have to wait a while, though. Weigel said it isn't likely the paint job on the new tower will begin until 2017. A previously proposed location for the new tower would have required the city to paint it in red and white vertical stripes because of its proximity to the Wauke- sha County Airport. But the current site won't require any color restrictions. When the city went to bid for the project, the designs called for the two-tone blue scheme. Weigel said he does- n't anticipate the other two options would cost more, however. The darker color on the bottom isn't just about aes- thetics, he said. It would actually help disguise mold that inevitably grows on the outside of the tank in shad- ed areas, similar to moss growing on a tree. Asked if he has a color preference, Weigel declined to reveal it, deferring instead to public opinion. "I do," he said, "but, since the people are voting, I think I probably shouldn't share." Email: landerson@conleyent.com Residents can offer opinions via online survey, paper ballot Charles Auer/Freeman Staff The water tower at Pewaukee City Hall will be replaced in 2016. The city is conducting an online poll to help determine the color of the new tower. 2015 best in home sales for Wisconsin since 2005 MADISON — Even without final results included for the month of December, 2015 was a successful year for home sales around Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Realtors Associa- tion reported Dec. 22 that the market was on pace to per- form as well as it did in 2005, when a little more than 78,000 homes were sold. According to the WRA, November home sales increased 3.4 percent, and the median price rose 3.4 percent to $150,000, when compared to November 2014. "We expected positive growth in 2015, but this has definitely exceeded our expectations," said K.C. Mau- rer, WRA board chairman, in a statement. The WRA said Wisconsin is on pace to sell more than 75,000 homes for 2016. Through the first 11 months of 2015, sales were up 11.3 percent statewide with every region showing gains of between 10.6 percent and 12.1 percent. "This robust market is attributable to an improving economy and low mortgage rates," Maurer said in the statement. The low unem- ployment rate at an average of 4.2 percent in November, which was a full percentage point lower than the same time last year, also helped the market, according to the WRA. In addition, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped below 4 percent in December 2014 and has stayed lower than 4 percent every month except one in 2015. In November, the median price of a home in Wisconsin rose to $150,000, which is 3.4 percent higher than the level in November 2014, and year- to-date, the median price is up 5.4 percent compared to the first 11 months of 2014, according to the report. "Housing as an asset has added real value for owners and has served as an impor- tant hedge against inflation over the past three years," said WRA President & CEO Michael Theo in the state- ment. "Median home prices increased 7.1 percent in 2013, 3.1 percent in 2014 and 5.4 per- cent so far this year. Home values have significantly out- paced inflation over the last three years, giving homeown- ers a great return on invest- ment." www.wra.org — Freeman Staff

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