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SHIOCTON, Wis. (WFRV) – Local school districts are asking taxpayers to help with operating costs and construction projects.
Voters in the Shiocton area will see two referendum questions on their ballots next week. One for an operational referendum and one for a referendum to fund capital improvement projects.
School district officials said the rising cost of student education and declining state funding forced them to go to a referendum.
“The needs of our students are increasing, and the cost of meeting those needs is increasing,” said Nicole Schweitzer, administrator of the Shiocton School District.
The first question in the referendum asks voters for $7.4 million over the next three school years for operating costs. This will cover things like utilities, regular maintenance, curriculum, extracurricular activities, staff salaries and other day-to-day expenses, district officials said.
School district officials note that the current implementation referendum expires at the end of this school year. Schweitzer said the district would be in a very difficult situation if the governing referendum did not pass.
“We’re going to be really looking at some difficult decisions related to reductions in programs and offerings,” she said. “It will have a significant impact on our ability to provide quality educational opportunities.”
The second referendum question requests $35.8 million for capital improvement projects. Schweitzer said the district recently conducted a facility survey and found approximately $70 million worth of needs. She and her colleagues pared that down to her $35.8 million in highest-priority projects.
- New play equipment and resurfaced playground
- safe entrance/exit
- New space for technical education programs
- new university gymnasium
- New art building with better acoustics for musicians, choir and band rooms will be adjacent to each other
- Nursery school expansion
- Infrastructure repairs such as HVAC, boilers, and plumbing systems.
The district has created a video showing what they hope these upgrades will be.
“This $35.8 million project will have the greatest impact on the lives of our students and the greatest benefit to our community, not only now and for years to come,” Schweitzer said.
She said there is no other way to get these projects done unless the capital project referendum passes.
Both referendums will cost taxpayers more than $40 million in total.
If both pass, taxpayers would see a tax increase of $1.97 per $1,000 of property value. Therefore, a homeowner with a home worth $100,000 would see a $197 tax increase.
District officials held several information sessions to discuss the referendum questions with residents. It was held on a Wednesday night and about 30 people attended.
Some local residents expressed concern about how much this would increase taxes. Some said they wish the district had done a better job of alerting them to the referendum and held it earlier in the year.
“Our hope is that the community sees this not as a tax increase, but as an investment in the community and an investment in our students,” Schweitzer said.
The question will appear on the ballot during the February 20 election. Click here to learn more about how the referendum works.
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