FAQs

We began a process to thoroughly assess facilities and learning environments in fall 2018, partnering with Eppstein Uhen Architects to help facilitate the development of an all-encompassing 10-year framework aligning the organization’s current reality, impending forecasts, strategic direction, and the community’s priorities.

The resulting long-range master plan for facilities, a Framework For Our Future, identified strengths in facilities, along with a number of challenges and opportunities for improvement. However, district leaders determined it was unrealistic to address the scope of all challenges identified in the plan.

A Community Task Force was assembled to review and consider the long-range master plan and other information, establish priorities, and make recommendations to district leaders and the board of education.

Following receipt of the recommendations of the task force, district administrators sponsored a community-wide survey with the goal to understand school community priorities. Mequon and Thiensville community members, district families, and employees were asked to share their opinions and provide guidance on next steps. The survey was open through December 4, 2019. All district residents received a mailed invitation to complete the survey.

What process has been used to evaluate the district's needs?

The district engaged in a robust process to evaluate, prioritize and find solutions to its facility needs. The process included a comprehensive Long-Range Master Plan and continued with an independent Community Task Force. Upon receiving the recommendations of the task force, district administrators chose to sponsor a community-wide survey to gather information about broader community priorities. Survey responses will guide and inform the recommendations and decisions of district administrators and the board.

What did the Community Task Force study and ultimately recommend?

The assembly of a task force follows a long-standing practice of engaging the community through ad-hoc committee structures tasked with exploring district-wide issues and strategic planning. The task force met in fall 2019 to engage in their review and work to develop recommendations. Meeting notes and the final recommendations of the task force are available online for community review.

What are the district's facility needs?

Prioritized needs of the Mequon-Thiensville School District include:

Enrollment & Growth: Each of the district’s elementary schools is currently operating near or over its ideal capacity. A series of studies, the most recent of which was conducted in 2019, predict that enrollment will increase by more than 350 students in the next 10 years. Most of this growth is expected at the elementary level. The district has inadequate classroom and core learning space to accommodate these students.

Safety & Security: The Mequon-Thiensville School District is committed to providing safe, secure, and accessible facilities for every student. Site circulation and traffic flow are ongoing challenges at all campuses, creating significant congestion and potential safety hazards. Robust co-curriculars, rentals, and recreation department activities at all campuses present challenges in controlling visitor access within buildings outside of the school day. Our schools also contain areas that are inaccessible or difficult to use for those with mobility impairments. These areas include restrooms, playground equipment, and elevated stage spaces.

Maintenance: Overall, MTSD’s facilities, components, and systems are well maintained due to investments made as a result of the 2015 referendum and a strategic annual maintenance plan. However, there are several projects the district is considering that are too costly to complete using annual operating funds. Some of these projects include HVAC system upgrades, district-wide conversion to municipal water, the addition of fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm system upgrades, and the addition of air conditioning at elementary and middle school buildings.

How has the community been engaged and informed?

Keeping community members engaged and informed has been our priority, and we have shared information and provided opportunities for engagement through the following.

Updates on the development of a long-range master plan were included in the community magazine Mequon-Thiensville Today in Winter 2019, Summer 2019, and Fall 2019.
Community members were invited to participate in community workshops held in April 2019.
Regular updates were included in the district's monthly newsletter, Momentum.
We kept the community updated on the work of the Community Task Force by providing meeting notes and distributing press releases following their meetings.
The Mequon-Thiensville community, MTSD families and staff members were invited to share their opinion regarding facilities challenges by completing a community-wide facilities survey, which was open Nov. 19-Dec. 4, 2019.

Is district enrollment growing?

Each of the district’s elementary schools is currently operating near or over its ideal capacity. A series of studies, the most recent of which was conducted in 2019, predict that enrollment will increase by more than 350 students in the next 10 years. Most of this growth is expected at the elementary level. The district has inadequate classroom and core learning space to accommodate these students.

Learn more about the methodology used to develop enrollment projections and review reports.

Is the school district planning to ask the community for support through a referendum?

When was the last time MTSD asked the community for support through a referendum?

On April 7, 2015 voters in Mequon and Thiensville approved an $18.2 million referendum for district-wide improvements in the Mequon-Thiensville School District. The referendum financed $14.4 million in capital improvements, including the replacement of roofs, windows, and boilers at several school buildings and renovations to Homestead High School’s auditorium and athletic fields. (The referendum did not finance the installation of a multi-sport turf field, which was funded by gifts to the Homestead Booster Club’s Highlander Strong Campaign.) The referendum also included $3.8 million for flexible learning environments at the middle and high school levels, including the Inquiry and Collaboration Centers at the Lake Shore and Steffen middle schools and I-Zone 2 and 1-Zone 3 at Homestead High School.

2015-16 also saw the completion of other construction projects; however, those projects were funded through district reserves, which included funds from the sale of land in 2014-15,not the referendum. Those district reserves-funded projects included the addition of a multi-purpose, outdoor community pavilion on the high school campus, and a total of seven classrooms added to our elementary schools: two at Donges Bay, two at Oriole Lane, and three at Wilson.

Why can't the school district use Range Line, the school that was shuttered when enrollment was declining, to address future growth needs?

Reopening Range Line was one of the options that was explored in the initial stages of long-range master facilities planning. It was determined that it was not an option that we could pursue because of the following.

It would be as expensive or nearly as expensive an option to reopen Range Line as a school as it would be to build a new school facility. Rough facilities costs to convert Range Line to a school can be estimated at around $30 million. In addition to costs associated with refurbishing the building, it would require a significant annual increase in operating expenses to staff a new school building. An additional building requires a cadre of staff, including an administrator, teachers, support staff, and facility staff members. Creating additions at our current schools is a more cost-effective approach than adding a fourth elementary school.
To reopen Range Line as a school, the district would also be faced with the challenge of finding a new place for existing programming and rentals that currently are housed at Range Line. The existing Range Line Community Center provides much needed space for the MTSD Community Recreation program.

Why can't the district address its facility needs with its maintenance budget?

Overall, MTSD’s facilities are well maintained due to investments made as a result of the 2014 referendum and a strategic annual maintenance plan. However, there are several projects the district is considering that could not be completed using annual operating funds. Some of these projects include HVAC system upgrades, the addition of air conditioning at elementary and middle school buildings, district-wide conversion to municipal water, the addition of fire sprinkler systems and fire alarm system upgrades.