NWTC Seeks $66.5 Million Referendum

Growth at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) campuses may lead to a $66.5 million referendum question on the spring ballot.

“The last NWTC referendum [$46,600,000], in 2001, was implemented so that we could work our way up to serving 5,000 FTE (full-time equivalent) students,” said NWTC Media and Communications Consultant Casey Fryda. “We’re now beyond 7,000 FTE students and Community College Week (a national publication) just analyzed U.S. Dept. of Education data and found NWTC to be one of the 14 fastest-growing large two-year colleges in the U.S. (again).”

As NWTC President Jeffrey Rafn has said, “We’re at capacity; we need to make changes so that we support industries that need more trained workers and Wisconsin residents who need more economic opportunities.”

Fryda said NWTC departments and teams have proposed ways to expand high-demand academic areas and enhance college services. The college conducted a poll on behalf of the NWTC District Board in late 2014 to learn about voter support for a possible expansion.

“Last month, the NWTC District Board gave preliminary approval to continued progress toward a referendum to increase our capacity,” Fryda said.

Here are the next steps in the process:

• At its regular meeting on Jan. 14 in Oconto Falls, the NWTC Board will take another look at the possible expansion, which would help NWTC meet the urgent need for more high-skill training that is affecting both employers and potential workers. The expansion would focus mainly on relieving critical work force shortages in trades and engineering, but it would include expansions in business, IT, public safety and rural health education as well. The changes would affect the Sturgeon Bay, Marinette and Green Bay campuses.

• If the board votes “yes” on Jan. 14, the issue would go to a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 26, at 4 pm in the District Board Room on the Green Bay campus. At that hearing, the Board would get community input, then decide whether to give their final approval to the referendum.

• If the board gives that approval, the issue would go to referendum on April 7. The current plan would total about $66.5 million. The effect on taxpayers would be about $5 per $100,000 of assessed value.