Cadott School Board; Referendum options up for discussion as next steps decided

Luke Schultz (left) and Brian Antczak, CESA, talked to the Cadott School Board, July 31, about what their role in the referendum process would be, if the school board selects them for the work. The school board is expected to vote on whether to hire CESA and if they want to form a Facility Advisory Committee, at the regular August meeting. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

The Cadott School Board heard what their options are, as part of a referendum update, during a Committee of the Whole meeting July 31. Action on the subject is expected at the regular August meeting.

District voters passed a referendum in April, for a number of updates to the junior and senior high building.

“As we talked to the board, they weren’t really happy with how things went,” said Josh Spaeth, district administrator.

Spaeth says the district currently does not have a general contractor, but they have a few options now. They could go with the referendum that passed or the district could go back to referendum for something a little different.

“If we go with a new referendum in April, that would supersede this referendum,” said Spaeth.

Spaeth says the goal of trying for a different referendum, would be to get better plans, so the district knows exactly what they are getting.

Luke Schultz and Brian Antczak, from CESA 10, were on hand to answer questions about what their role in the referendum process would be.

“They have a little different model from the other bids that were given to us,” said Spaeth. “So, basically, they help facilitate and manage the process, but then they would send it out so multiple construction companies can bid on the project.”

Spaeth says the competitive nature would be a huge benefit to the school, because it would help lower the profit margins of the contractors.

Board member Rod Tegels asked what CESA’s specific role in the process would be. Schultz says they would act as the construction managers overseeing the general contractors.

“And, it depends on the scope,” said Schultz.

He says the direction the district is going determines how CESA would bid out the projects.

When it comes to referendum planning, Schultz says they are not an architect or a design firm, so for projects that need a design submitted to the state, they would need to hire a design firm and CESA would bring them in, when needed.

The board saw a Project Development Agreement (PDA) which addresses the community outreach and the development for the referendum, if the board chooses to pursue an April 2024 referendum. Schultz says, if they do decide to go to referendum, a resolution containing their new language and dollar amounts needs to be passed by the end of January. The time between January and April, focuses on community outreach and sharing information in hands-on meetings with the public.

Schultz says, if the board decides to go that direction, the next steps for the board, are to get CESA on board and decide if they want a Facility Advisory Committee, or if the board wants to drive the process.

After a new referendum passes or if the school board decides to stick with the existing referendum, Schultz says the agreement with CESA would roll to a Construction Management Agreement. CESA would oversee the construction projects and the budget.

Schultz says there is not a cost with the PDA, but once they switch to a construction management agreement, it would cost 2 percent over the project costs, plus their time.

“That’s where we are a little different than anyone else,” said Schultz.

Board president Cory LaNou says something that stuck out to him, is the district would only pay the 2 percent on the portions of the project CESA manages, not on the portions the district manages themselves, such as maintenance.

“If we need their help, obviously, we can pay for that,” said LaNou. “But, fundamentally, if we’re equipped to handle some of those upgrades...then we save all that cost.”

Spaeth says, once they get to the bidding process, any contractor can bid on the project. Tegels asked if they request a quote packages. Schultz says everything they bid out is publicly bid, so it goes on different search engines, but they like to make some phone calls.

“You like to get four contractors, or five, to show up to bid,” said Schultz, adding sometimes that takes special outreach, since everyone is busy.

Antczak says referendums also have requirements for posting when projects go out for bid.

Board member Andrea Wahl asked who makes the decisions on who gets the bids. Schultz says CESA will provide a recommendation, but it is ultimately the school board’s choice.

“Bigger packages, you might want to have a little interview process,” said Antczak.

Spaeth says the other districts working with CESA that he reached out to, are happy with CESA’s services.

LaNou says he would like to see a Facility Advisory Committee formed, composed of board, faculty and maybe community members, which he thinks will help the project move a little faster. Schultz says the committee would also decide if a community survey is needed and, if so, which questions should be asked, and which direction to go, based on the results.

Brad Sonnentag, board member, said they already did a lot of that kind of work on the scope of the projects and what the community wants. LaNou says they can recycle some of what they did, but says some re-evaluations are probably needed. He says he would like to see the committee form a strong definition of what they are actually going to do and define the costs.

“I really just felt uncertain before, of what it was we were actually going to get, for what we were spending,” said LaNou.

LaNou also says he would like to make sure all long-term maintenance is addressed, because the plan is for 20 years.

Tegels says he wants to make sure the scope matches the new administration and leadership team’s vision, too.

“We want to make sure our staff does actually get the time to weigh in,” said LaNou.

Tegels asked if now through the end of December, is enough time to define what the weaknesses are that they need to work on.

Spaeth says he would like to see them work on a main entrance for the building, making sure they get the bang for their buck in the tech ed area, making sure they have enough space in the athletic facilities and getting the community into the school. Spaeth says those elements are also important to remain competitive, when it comes to open enrollment, with other schools in the area.

He says predicting what the technology needs will be in 20 years, is a pretty far stretch, but says they are looking at what they can do in the next five years, to be competitive and building in flexibility, so there are options to change as the times change.

“I feel good with the direction we’re going,” said Spaeth.

Tegels said it sounds like they have a good vision for the next five plus years, and agreed Spaeth was spot-on, when it comes to 20-year planning.

Sonnentag asked what they will have by January. Schultz says the district will have renderings with cost estimates. The design process takes place after a referendum passes, unless the board decides to pay those fees up front.

LaNou and Spaeth said they saw a district with 3D models of what the space would look like. Schultz said they would get that and the square footages.

“You would have a visual of what this IMC is going to look like,” said Schultz.

Antczak says the electrical and mechanical would not be in the renderings, until the design process is underway.

Spaeth says the visuals would help the community get a good idea of what they are getting.

The next agenda will have possible action to approve CESA as the vendor for the project and decide whether they want a Facility Advisory Committee.

Also discussed, was the possibility of hiring an additional district office staff member. Spaeth says district office staff Sue Shakal and Karita Harvey are very busy, and doing the jobs of three people, in districts of comparable size to Cadott.

He says he still needs to sit down with Shakal and Harvey, to talk and divvy up the jobs.

“I would like to see, if this would go forward, to get a payroll manager, and take all the payroll and HR,” said Shakal. “And I could focus on the finance stuff.”

The additional position will be up for a vote at the next meeting.

Spaeth also reported food service supervisor Deb Zais thinks it would be a good idea to bring back universal free breakfast, which they had for a few years before. He says it is a way to capitalize on state aid.

Spaeth says he also heard one district offers free lunch, to capture state aid.

“I’d be curious to see what that would look like,” said board member Kevin Roshell.

Spaeth says he hasn’t dug into those numbers yet, but says the breakfast would be a good starting point.

A baseball field donation offer was also discussed. Spaeth reported T& J Concrete would like to donate poured concrete around portions of the field, for lawn chair seating. Spaeth says they need to check property lines, to make sure everything is good to go, before any action is taken.