Smarter Budget.
Better Schools.
Preserve Our Parks.

We are pro-education — but this referendum is the wrong answer

Whitefish Bay has a proud tradition of investing in its schools, and we all want that to continue. We support ADA upgrades, safety improvements, and HVAC renovations — not a new building that displaces Armory Park's cherished war memorial, mature trees, and precious green space. Voting NO in April tells our School Board to come back with a better solution.

This referendum does NOT increase teacher pay

Whitefish Bay is consistently ranked the No. 1 school district in Wisconsin — a testament to dedicated parents and exceptional teachers. But this is a capital referendum, which means every dollar goes toward construction costs, not compensation. It does nothing to address or improve teacher pay, while layering decades of capital costs onto the budget. Another approach would address critical infrastructure needs and direct the savings toward investing in the teachers who make WFB schools second to none.

Parks are not expendable

Open green space in dense suburban communities is a finite resource. Armory Park provides vital recreational, environmental, and community benefits that no building can replace. The North Shore has very limited parkland. What we have must be protected.

"I walk through Armory Park every day — sometimes with a friend or family member, sometimes with dogs, sometimes alone to read or meditate. I treasure the majestic trees, and the beauty of sunrises, sunsets, leaves changing, rain-filled days, and peaceful snowfalls. This is the crown jewel of Whitefish Bay open space — once nature is destroyed, it cannot be replaced."

— Michele Hall, Whitefish Bay resident  ·  See what more of your neighbors say about the park

Green Space and Flooding

Armory Park currently functions as permeable green space — when it rains, water soaks into the ground naturally. The grass, soil, and root systems absorb and manage a significant amount of runoff that would otherwise flow toward neighboring properties and streets. Building a new middle school on this site would replace that natural absorption with a large footprint of impervious surfaces: a school building, parking areas, student drop-off lanes, and paved walkways. That changes the drainage equation significantly for the surrounding neighborhood — in a village that already faces flooding challenges.

Better options exist

The school district's own polling shows that most residents support referendums under $125 million. That's a clear mandate to pursue less costly alternatives before committing to a more expensive 21-year loan with interest that eliminates a beloved park. We call on the school board to take those preferences seriously and bring forward options — such as renovating and updating ADA, safety, and HVAC needs — that reflect priorities that residents said they wanted, rather than an all-or-nothing approach with a new building. It's also worth noting that enrollment across Wisconsin is declining, and Whitefish Bay is no exception — enrollment here has been flat, raising real questions about whether a brand-new building of this scale is warranted.

Property values and neighborhood character

Access to parks is a cornerstone of what makes Whitefish Bay a desirable place to live. Eliminating Armory Park would affect surrounding property values, neighborhood aesthetics, and the very identity of a community that residents have invested in for generations.

Plans to replace a parcel of green space at the old middle school site have been vague at best — a mixture of parking, tennis courts, and grass. That kind of reconfigured space cannot replicate what Armory Park offers, and critically, there is no plan to save the old-growth trees that currently define the park. Once those trees are gone, they cannot be replaced.

A war memorial built by this community deserves our protection

Armory Park was chosen as the site for Whitefish Bay's veterans memorial for a specific reason: it is the historic ground of the former WFB National Guard Armory, home to soldiers of the 32nd Infantry Division — the famous "Red Arrow." The memorial's design honors that history directly. The monument is shaped as a red arrow, whose shaft passes through the donor walls and memorial area, just as the 32nd pierced every enemy line it faced. The arrow's feathers serve as the gathering area; the arrow's head, where our nation's flag stands, is a memorial garden. Donor benches encircle the flagpole — a place to pause and reflect on the sacrifices of service members and their families. Learn more about Armory Park on the Village website.

Nearly 400 community members contributed to build it. Construction began in 2009; it was dedicated on Memorial Day 2010. Since then, 56 plaques have honored those who served — some of whom gave their lives. In 2020, the Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to further beautify it, calling it "a wonderful location in our Village to recognize their service."

An unspecified plan to move the memorial does not include a location, design, or any other details — and would destroy what many consider a sacred and permanent memorial.