WEST ALLIS- It’s back to the drawing board for the West Allis/West Milwaukee School District after voters soundly rejected a $149-million referendum that would have combined two high schools into a single, new, building.
The district had wanted to close both Central and Nathan Hale High Schools and build a new, modern school, where Nathan Hale currently stands. If passed, the district says it would have started the process immediately with the hopes of having the new building open by 2026.
Voters resoundingly rejected the district’s proposal by a margin of 59% to 41%. Board President Noah Leigh tells WTMJ the defeat will force them to reassess what they’re asking next time around.
“It wasn’t like it was a 90% failure so it’s definitely something the community may be able to support if it’s the right plan,” Leigh said. “The reality is that the district will only be able to financially support one high school without an influx of funds from the community to keep two open so I do think, eventually, there will be a decision point where if the community is adamant about maintaining two high schools they’ll have to follow it up with a referendum to do so.”
In the immediate future, Leigh says they’ll meet with the district’s administration, as well as the public, to decide the best way forward, “We’ll also look at our facilities plan as a whole and decide if we are going to come back with a different referendum in the future.”
The cost to make necessary repairs to both schools will come with a price tag of roughly $60-million. Leigh says they’ll work with their facilities managers to determine which repairs are highest priority. Right now the district says they plan to have students in both schools once the fall semester rolls around.
The West Allis/West Milwaukee referendum was one of several dozen appearing on ballots across the state. In total, districts asked for more than $1 billion dollars in public funding.
