SPENCER, WI (OnFocus) – The Spencer School District is asking for a recurring operational referendum that will help keep classes from being cut and add new resources over the next five years.
The referendum will be voted on during the April 5 spring election. The additional revenue would allow the school to keep six employees that the district would otherwise have to cut from the payroll.
The increase would be a recurring referendum, meaning the school district would be able to continue to serve their students and community with the quality education they have become accustomed to over the next five years. With this plan, the tax impact will remain level as long as school enrollment, property values and funding from the state is stable.
In a statement, the school district acknowledged past referendums and the fatigue that might be associated with those referendums.
“We know that voters in the district are suffering from referendum fatigue and the board is confident that this long-term plan will alleviate that feeling as we all continue to strive for the best for our students,” the district said.
Over the next five years, the district would be looking to increase its operational revenue cap by a total of $2.55 million. The incremental increases would add $925,000 in 2022-2023, $725,000 in 2023-2024, $525,000 in 2024-2025, $225,000 in 2025-2026, and an additional $150,000 in 2026-2027.
If the referendum passes according to the Spencer Referendum website the school would be able to:
- Bring Back One Business Ed/IT Instructor
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- Add Accounting 1
- Add Accounting 2
- Add Entrepreneurship
- Add Coding
- Add Web Design
- Add International Business
- Send these classes out via distance learning to recoup costs
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- Bring Back One Spanish Teacher/ELL Support
- Add Spanish 1
- Add Spanish 2
- Add Spanish 3
- Add English Language Learner Support
- Add Elementary Spanish
- Send these classes out via distance learning to recoup costs
- Add Elementary Math Interventionist
- Add Middle School Counselor Position
- Increase in mental health support
- Increase in academic and career planning
- Miscellaneous
- Create one period of ELA intervention in Middle School
If the referendum fails according to the website:
- Eliminate One Music Instructor
- Divide elementary music between Band and Choral Directors
- Reduce the ability to provide individual and small group lessons
- Eliminate Business Ed Program
- Eliminate Intro to Business 1
- Eliminate Intro to Business 2 Dual Credit
- Eliminate Personal Finance
- Eliminate Marketing
- Reduce Course Offerings in High School
- Increase Class Sizes in
- American and Wisconsin Government (9th Gr)
- World History (9th Gr)
- Algebra 1
- Algebra 2
- Eliminate These Courses
- Careers with Kids
- Parents and Children
- Animal Science and Technology Zero Hour Phy Ed
- Independent Art
- 6th Grade Spanish
- Increase Class Sizes in
- Eliminate One Middle School Instructor
- 6th Grade will go from 3 to 2 sections
- Average class size will increase from 16 to 24 in this grade
- Eliminate 3 Elementary Instructors, increasing class sizes
Year 2
- The Board of Education would project needing to make an additional $1.41 million in operational cuts to balance the budget.
- Education at Spencer Public Schools would not be the same.
The district’s operating budget is based on the 2019-20 audited financial data from the Department of Instruction (DPI) website which has the District’s total operating revenue at $10,793,146.
Estimated impacts on residents’ tax increments would be as follows:
Videos explaining the referendum can be seen on the referendum website.
**This article was updated at 7:55 p.m. on Friday, April 1st**
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