MUKWONAGO — Voters on Tuesday said no to a $102 million referendum for Mukwonago District Schools. It was the third-largest referendum in the state.
The referendum did not pass, with 54% of voters saying no, and 46% of voters saying yes. Just under 10,000 votes were cast in the race.
If approved, the Mukwonago Area School District School Board had wanted to demolish the current Park View Middle School and build a new 6th-8th grade middle school.
The topic brought many Mukwonago parents and residents to the polls Tuesday.
“It’s so busy you can’t even get around school. I couldn’t even go to lunch before the bell would ring,” Noah Ipsa, a Mukwonago high school student, said.
It was his first time voting, and both he and his mom voted yes.
“I picked yes because we need a bigger middle school. They’re the future of Mukwonago,” Kimberly Ipsa explained.
However, not everyone could justify the price. If approved, it would have raised property taxes an average of $200 a year for a $300,000 home.
The average home in Mukwonago is $400,000.
“As a single parent, I’m not really for my taxes going up. Personally, it’s not going to affect my daughter after this year and I don’t have any other kids,” Morgan Lang, a parent and Mukwonago resident shared.
The proposed referendum also included plans to reconfigure grade levels and add space for four-year-old kindergarten.
Other residents casting their vote at the Mukwonago Village Hall had hoped for some kind of in-between.
“I could see them doing renovations, but not a whole new school. They renovated the high school not too long ago and it looks great,” Jeremy Forecki, a resident, explained.
In 2016, Mukwonago voters passed a nearly $50 million referendum to update the high school.
Meanwhile, in Pewaukee, the majority of voters approved a referendum that would fund repairs to flooring and roofing at several area schools.
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