A new building – after 45 years – could be in the works.

The proposed referendum for a new high school in the De Pere school district will most likely not be built in time for any current De Pere students to go to school at the new building.

However, De Pere school board president Adam Clayton believes that it is important for high school students to care about the future of their district, even after they graduate. The current high school building was built in 1978. 

“You guys as high schoolers don’t get to see the benefit of the school directly such as being able to attend it,” Clayton says, “but one of the things that I think is a guiding principle of public education is that good public education benefits everyone long term.”

In mid-October 2023, the Unified School District of De Pere sent out a community survey regarding the referendum for change in De Pere. The district asked for the early input of the community in order to gather feedback on how the referendum might turnout in the near future. 

The main purpose of the survey was to address the finances, capacity, and aging building systems. Results of the survey will be shared at the school board meeting on Dec. 4. 

“There’s definitely some different perspectives on how to facilitate learning in the community,” Clayton said. “The data that we have shows that we do have capacity issues and needs within our existing buildings so some opportunities for expansion or a new building is warranted based on the data that we see.”

A referendum date has not been set, but officials predict that if it passes, a new high school would not be accessible until anywhere from 2027 to 2029. 

The referendum has been split up into the budget for the operations and a plan for the facilities. The facilities referendum addresses the possibility of building a new high school that could better hold De Pere’s growing population. Meanwhile, the referendum for the operations discusses the budget for technology, maintenance and activities inside the schools.

While these referendums are being proposed at the same time, they are not directly connected, The school board could choose to pass neither, both or just one of them.

Projections for a total cost of these referendums are in the area of $200 million. This would be a financial commitment for many De Pere taxpaying homeowners. 

Superintendent Dr. Thompson said, “The hard part is understanding that the facilities or capital referendum questions have a significant impact because many of the houses in De Pere are over $300,000 if not over $500,000.”

Although this tax increase could negatively affect the community, Dr. Thompson believes that the school will gain enough support from community members. 

“The additional taxes being added on to the housing becomes a large impact,” he said. “That’s a significant tax increase, so that could be a hard sell for the community. However, if the community understands the urgency, the concerns, and the big picture of all of this together, I am confident that the community is going to respond in a positive way.”