Today the 2030 Task Force is releasing a new Focus on Results (FOR) brief: “A Fiscal Reality Check for the Wauwatosa School District” (Dec. 18, 2025).

Residents just received a clear signal that the local tax burden is rising faster than many households can absorb. Across community channels, the themes are consistent: bills landed higher than expected; increases are widely perceived as school-driven; and residents are asking for a transparent, option-by-option plan with price tags, trade-offs, and measurable outcomes.

At the same time, facilities options are now widely discussed as $350M–$450M, while a lower-cost “repair what we have” path (roughly $150M in deferred maintenance) is reported by community members as having been removed from consideration. When choices narrow and remaining outcomes are framed as inevitable, public trust erodes.

Attached FOR brief - Our ask is simple: an affordability-first, transparent, option-complete facilities plan (including repair-only/status quo variants), grounded in enrollment and staffing realities, with clear governance boundaries between neutral information-sharing and any advocacy.

When academic outcomes are not where they need to be, it’s essential that facilities planning stays disciplined, transparent, and financially realistic. Families and community members shouldn’t be asked to pay more without clear accountability for results.