Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Referendum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wauwatosa finance committee reviews 2024 referendum progress, roofing work and new public dashboard
Summary
District staff told the Finance & Resource Committee that phase‑one safety documents will go out this month, roofing removal began June 17 at Eisenhower, bids are running under the referendum contingency and a public dashboard now shows per‑building spending and project details.
The Wauwatosa School District Finance & Resource Committee heard a detailed update July 16 on implementation of the 2024 referendum, including roofing work now under way, ongoing schematic design for phase two and a new public dashboard that will show building‑level spending and project status. The committee approved minutes at the start of the meeting.
Staff said the district has posted the June referendum update to the website and that phase‑one construction documents — focused on safety work — will be released this month. On roofing, the presenter reported that removal began June 17 at Eisenhower and crews have proceeded with staging, tear‑off and installation of new membrane and insulation, with photos uploaded to document progress and to provide a record in case later issues arise.
The presenter told the committee that bid results so far show a positive variance: the roofing budget included a $140,000 contingency, bids came in about $125,000 under the referendum budget as bid, and the project has had one change order of roughly $5,000 so far. "We're not finished yet, but ... a healthy portion of that will be returned to the referendum budget," the presenter said.
Kevin, who explained the schematic design work, said the district is re‑evaluating the itemized assessment created during the referendum to prioritize money where it is most needed rather than simply "doing the list." He used examples: replacing bleachers that buildings no longer need; choosing upgraded Wi‑Fi rather than running new Cat‑5 cabling; and reducing classroom cubby counts to reflect typical class sizes. "What we want to do then is take all the list and let's make our projects," Kevin said, describing schematic budgets as conceptual costs the board will be asked to align with available dollars.
Staff previewed that schematic‑design packages will be presented to the full board on July 28 and showed a new public dashboard that includes a heat map of buildings, per‑building project lists sortable by location, tabs separating ADA and deferred items, and a downloadable register showing vendors, descriptions and amounts. Staff said check numbers will be masked to limit fraud risk while preserving transparency about vendors and expenditures.
Committee members praised the level of detail and the district's effort to provide documentation and explanations for changes in scope. Staff emphasized that some ADA projects require more invasive work and state approvals, which affects timing and explains why certain ADA items are scheduled for later phases.
The committee set its next meeting for Aug. 13 at 11:00 a.m.
