Southern Door, Wis. (October 7, 2020) – To continue providing a high-quality education to its students, the Southern Door County School District is asking voters for a little help. The Board of Education has placed a referendum question on the November 3 ballot, asking voters to allow the district to exceed its state-set revenue limits by $975,000 for each of three (3) years, starting this school year. The additional revenue would allow the District to sustain current programs and meet emerging needs. Specifically, it would fund educational programs and student services such as mental health, update curriculum materials, maintain technology, and address staffing needs such as sufficient salaries and benefits to attract and keep quality employees.
If approved, the $975,000 operating referendum would comprise $.76 of the tax mill rate (the amount of taxes per $1000 of property value) each of the next three years. However, because the District’s mill rate is dropping, an approved referendum would result in no increase to the net mill rate compared to last year.
Public schools in Wisconsin are funded with a combination of revenues, including local property taxes and various state and federal education aids. Under a 1993 state law, there is a cap, or limit, on the amount a school district can collect from local property taxes and state aid. The only way to increase revenue is to have an increase in overall district enrollment, or go to local taxpayers to ask for an operating referendum to exceed the district’s revenue cap.
Because of the state limits, school districts throughout Wisconsin have struggled to maintain programs, as revenues have not kept up with costs to maintain current services. Nearly 80% of all Wisconsin school districts have pursued operating referendums to exceed the revenue caps, and all the other Door County school districts have had voters approve operating referendums.
In 2018, voters gave Southern Door County School District the authority to exceed the revenue limits in an operating referendum. That community investment allowed the District to secure the necessary technology and professional development for Southern Door students and staff to be well prepared for today’s challenges in education with on-site and virtual learning needs. That authority expired in June 2020, so the District must take a new operating referendum to voters.
If the November 3 referendum does not pass, the district will be forced to make additional cuts to programs to reduce its budget shortfall.
For more information, visit the district website at
http://www.southerndoor.k12.wi.us/referendum__november_3__2020.
ALL CONTENT © 2024 BY DOOR GUIDE PUBLISHING
