WAUPUN, Wis. — Three weeks until Election Day and many schools will be asking voters to approve referendums. More than 40 school districts want to exceed their revenue limits set by the state.
"This isn't a nice to have, It's a need to have,” said Rob Abbott, superintendent of the School District of Fort Atkinson.
"The budget process that was approved by the state legislature and the governor really kind of put all public schools in the kind of a pinch,” said Steven Hill, district administrator of the Waupun Area School District.
Dan Rossmiller, Director of Government Relations for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, says there has been a zero percent increase in school budgets at the state level in the last two years.
"We have currently record high inflation, the highest inflation we've had in 40 years, and that comes on top of a state budget, which did not allow any adjustment in the revenue limits. Typically in the past, there's been an inflationary increase in the per pupil amount of those revenue limits that did not happen,” said Rossmiller.
In this upcoming election, 42 school districts are going to referendum to ask to exceed the revenue limits. Earlier this year, 50 others school districts have already asked voters that question. Rossmiller says that makes 92 referendums this year asking to exceed the revenue limit, the highest amount in a single calendar year.
Rossmiller says many districts are going to referendum to keep class sizes.
"Their choices are either to cut programs and staff and increase class sizes or go to referendum to make up for the money,” said Rossmiller.
It is the reason the Waupun Area School District says they are asking voters to exceed the revenue limits by $980,000 for three years.
"Rural schools do struggle a bit in the sense of offerings they can have. So to compete with some of our larger neighbors, we want to continue to add and offer and even increase our dual enrollment courses, our advanced placement courses. We want students to have every opportunity if they went anywhere,” said Hill.
Fort Atkinson is asking for two referendums. The first is a capitol referendum of $22 million to secure school entrances, school maintenance, and improve the traffic flow at the high school. They also are asking in a separate question to raise revenue limits by $3 million next year, $4 million in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and $5 million for 2025-26. Abbott says without additional state money they have no choice.
"We know that the cost of living, as well as the expenses for staffing and benefits, and the cost of operating buildings and transportation, and on down the line has been far greater than zero. So, without any additional funding from the State, you know, we're left in a spot to make up that deficit,” said Abbott.
Both the School District of Fort Atkinson and the Waupun Area School District says if their referendums fail, they will ask again in April.