A group of residents within the Arrowhead school district have filed a lawsuit to block the upcoming April expansion referendum. On March 18, a group of citizen taxpayers operating under the name ‘Arrowhead No’ filed the lawsuit against the district. According to this group, they believe that the school district was untruthful about the real cost of the planned Arrowhead high school expansion. The allegation comes from residents who are concerned that the actual cost of the referendum passing will be higher than expected.
On the April 1 election, those living within the Arrowhead school district will vote on whether or not to pass a revised capital referendum. In 2024, the district attempted to pass an initial referendum that would have cost about $405 million when accounting for interest. After this did not pass, the district went back to the drawing board. In the wake of the losing initial vote, the school returned with a new proposal. They claim that this new budget would cost about $136.2 million, and would allow for the two buildings which make up the campus of Arrowhead high school to be consolidated and updated.
The ‘Arrowhead No’ group is alleging that this newly proposed referendum is intentionally misleading and ultimately false. The plaintiffs have alleged that the actual cost, with interest factored in, would be much higher. Arrowhead No believes that the actual cost to taxpayers would be closer to $230 million. This would account for an additional $93 million cost for the community, more than an additional half of the newly proposed budget. The lawsuit was filed with the Waukesha County Circuit Court.
One of the leaders of the Arrowhead No group is resident man John Marek. Marek has stated his desire to stop the referendum, as he believes it has been intentionally misleading as a way to keep taxpayers in the dark about the actual costs and use of their money. Marek alleges that the initial 2024 referendum question was equally misleading, as it did not account for the additional price of interest. Due to the 2024 referendum being misguiding, he believes this is evidence of a similar line of misinformation for the April 1 election.
The Arrowhead school district has maintained its claim of innocence thus far. In statements released by School Board President Kim Schubert, the district states that it has worked hard with financial advisors to develop a plan for renovation and expansion that was necessary and clear. Schubert is committed to the district’s “transparency”, which they believe is key to building a strong relationship with the community it serves.
