Referendum pitched to pay for doors, roofs and bathroom repairs across Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau schools

A community presenter and district staff on Thursday described a proposed referendum to raise money for facility repairs in the Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District, pointing to aging doors, roof problems across multiple buildings and bathrooms that need plumbing and flooring work.

"These are all metal doors and this is a prime example of work that needs to be done between new closures and new hardware just to match the rest of our nice parts of the building," a staff member said, describing exterior doors on the south end of the district high school as needing replacement or updated hardware.

The speakers said the district operates on an annual budget and evaluates projects each year. "I will get a quote. Are we able to do it? What's that look like?" the same staff member said, adding that some projects are put "on the back burner" when funds are not available.

Another staff member said a six-month analysis of five district buildings uncovered roofing needs that exceed what the annual budget can cover. "We tried to incorporate that with our typical budget, but these roofing issues were a little bit over what we could do on an annual basis," the staff member said.

A presenter described how a group of community members, teachers and board members met to prioritize needs and arrive at a referendum question. The presenter said the referendum is intended both to address maintenance and to support instructional improvements, including smaller class sizes and larger learning spaces that would allow more small-group instruction.

"We could get smaller class sizes for teachers, larger learning spaces for students to allow them to do the small group, engaging learning experiences," a staff member said, adding that "that's where learning truly takes off."

Speakers also emphasized safety and basic infrastructure. "We don't have safe entrances at all of our schools, and we need to improve that," the presenter said. The presenter and a staff member described bathroom upgrades as more than cosmetic: "we've painted the walls and put some new partitions in, but still flooring and plumbing, it needs to be updated," the staff member said.

One resident framed the schools as central to community life: "I think the staff and families that work here all have this love and pride for our school district. I would say that's truly unique to this area ... our buildings, our events and opportunities. All of those things are a huge cornerstone of the entire community," the resident said.

The presenter concluded by saying the referendum would provide the space for safer, more appropriate learning environments: "This referendum will provide the space so that every student can learn in a safe and appropriate environment. And then every student can soar to wherever they wanna go."

The discussion described the problems the referendum is intended to address and the community effort that shaped the question; no vote or final funding amount was provided during the discussion and speakers did not specify a timetable for placing the measure before voters.