Arcadia school board approves pair of studies for referendum preparation

The Arcadia School District hopes that a pair of studies approved at last Monday’s school board meeting will help the district better understand its community and predict future needs as it ponders a referendum.

The studies, approved unanimously, include:

• An enrollment projection study by the Applied Population Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to project future class sizes and district needs.

• A community survey conducted by School Perceptions to educate community members on the status of the district as well as gauge their opinion of the district and willingness to spend tax dollars on possible referendum improvements.

Enrollment projection study

The Applied Population Lab (APL) will look back at the last 10 years’ third Friday enrollment counts as well as birth data within district boundaries and housing developments/new construction to more accurately predict enrollment through 2031-32.

They will also work with the city of Arcadia to predict how potential housing projects could impact enrollment based on the type of housing structures being proposed. Another bid for similar work was rejected by the district because it would have cost $19-20,000. 

The APL study will cost $3,500 and will take three to four weeks when it’s started next month.

“That allows us to then project ‘Okay, how big would we have to build a future facility,’” Arcadia Superintendent Lance Bagstad told the Times. “Are our current facilities going to be sized correctly? Are we going to have to do some additions? Are we gonna have to do some remodels?”

School Perceptions Survey

The survey collecting thoughts on district needs from residents, staff and families is projected to be approved by the board in September before responses are gathered in October. A presentation on the results would be given in November before the board could decide whether to pursue a referendum thereafter.

The four-step survey will cost the district $9,500 and will be available virtually and in paper. They will need 18 percent of residents to respond in order to get an accurate result–the surveys typically see a response between 20-40 percent, Bagstad told the board.

If the district’s enrollment projection comes back way lower than the district expects or construction projects taper off, it can opt not to conduct the public perceptions survey, Bagstad said.

As of last week it was “highly likely” that the district would proceed with the survey, he said, but it helps to know they can opt out if needed.

Surveys would rely on community opinion, and in the coming months the district will work with School Perceptions to see what questions it should ask in the survey.

Board President Paul Servais and member Rodney Walters both said they wanted to ensure that the survey reached everybody, to which Bagstad said the district will work to ensure all people have a chance to participate.

“Everybody says they never get a chance to give us feedback, and then when we give them the opportunity, we don’t get it,” Servais said. “I mean, I don’t expect 100 percent participation, that’d be awesome.”

Walters said he hopes the survey represents the entire community and not just one demographic of Arcadia, and Servais asked how to make sure the Latino community wouldn’t be left out.

Bagstad said that will be a priority for the district, which will work with its marketing and communications team to try to avoid that.

Public hearings on referendums wouldn’t take place until the district knows what it will be asking for and has more specific information from the survey on what it does and doesn’t need or want in a referendum. 

These hearings would come “Post-survey, pre-referendum,” Bagstad said.