East Troy board hears facility scenarios and public pleas for field, track and lighting repairs; survey decision deferred

Performance Services presented a set of facility-assessment scenarios and community‑survey options to the East Troy Community School District Board of Education on March 18, after several residents urged the board to prioritize repairs to athletic facilities.

The presentation by Performance Services’ representatives summarized a multi‑building capital improvement plan developed with district staff and the Citizens Facility Advisory Committee (CFAC). The firm grouped recommended improvements under safety and security, facility conditions and educational adequacy and described a timeline that could lead to a potential November referendum if the board chooses to pursue one.

Why it matters: The community’s CFAC work and the scenario packages frame the district’s choices about which repairs to pursue, how to sequence them and what to test with a potential referendum. Board members said they want more detail before approving a district‑wide community perception survey to test referendum language.

Public commenters framed the stakes in practical terms. Janessa Pulis, an East Troy High School teacher and parent, said the football field has holes and heavy clover growth and that stadium lights and the track are in poor condition. “The football field is in poor condition,” Pulis said, adding that the district’s buildings and grounds director had told her he would work to get the field “in tip‑top condition.”

Jean Wesmarianowski, a CFAC committee member, criticized how CFAC was briefed on proposed work and asked the board to request item‑level lists and cost estimates. “We have no idea what many of the proposed repairs and upgrades were,” she said, urging clearer tours of each facility and line‑item cost information before the board makes major decisions.

Lauren Wanner, Performance Services’ business development manager, told the board that no single scenario from the CFAC stood out as the clear community choice and that scenarios range from conservative repairs to larger replacement options. She said the firm recommends a community perception survey to test how the district might package referendum questions for voters.

Board action: A board member moved to table the decision on commissioning the community perception survey until the scheduled workshop (the board’s next work session) so trustees could review more materials and raise questions with administration. The motion passed. Performance Services and CFAC materials will be available for the board and discussed in greater detail at the workshop before any formal survey is launched.

What’s next: The board will consider survey questions and scenario details at the upcoming workshop; if the board proceeds, a community survey would be administered in spring and results presented to the board in June ahead of any August resolution and potential November referendum.

Attribution: Quotes and characterizations in this article are drawn from on‑the‑record remarks at the March 18 board meeting.