– Letter to the Editor –

You will have an opportunity to vote, April 2, on how much more you want to pay in property taxes, for expansion projects at the (Cadott) school.

A yes vote for the $25 million referendum fully funds the five projects explained in the referendum newsletter. A no vote results in only the tech ed project moving forward, as a result of last year’s referendum. Either way, property taxes will increase.

The most costly of the proposed projects, is the additional gymnasium (gym), with early estimates in excess of $10 million. In comparison, the square footage of the proposed gym (excluding the walking track) is twice as large as the existing “large gym” and 2.8 times that of the “small” gym.

If you have followed the referendum information for the Stanley-Boyd (school) referendum, you will have noted that their gym proposal is for a larger gym than Cadott’s (three-station gym vs. Cadott’s two-station). The larger gym will probably give Stanley-Boyd a competitive advantage in hosting large athletic events, as noted in the Stanley Republican.

When asked to respond to a question by a Stanley-Boyd school board member about being in competition with another school district, the response was, “At least one of the neighboring districts has admitted that one of the reasons for their referendum, is competition.”

The named districts were Cadott and Thorp.

Thorp has an operating referendum on the ballot, not capital improvements, so they will not be a competitor to host events. With the millions of dollars involved in proposed gym expansion for both Cadott and Stanley, instead of competition to outdo the other, perhaps some form of cooperation between the districts is in order.

After all, the schools are 13 miles apart, with an excellent highway between!

Vernon Haas, Cadott