Marshfield (OnFocus) – With the current $3 million referendum set to expire, the School District of Marshfield will be seeking approval for a $3.5 million dollar referendum from area taxpayers.
Last night, the Board of Directors discussed a resolution which would authorize the school district budget to exceed revenue limit by $3,500,000 for recurring purposes, as specified in WI State statute Section 121.91. Voters will be asked to approve the referendum this November.
The funds would begin with the 2021-2022 school year, for recurring purposes consisting of sustaining educational programming and operational and maintenance expenses.
“It’s never a great time to ask people for money,” said Board Member Kajal Sitwala. “But just a reminder that actually we are not asking for more money, in a sense.”
Stiwala was referencing the fact that the referendum would be a continuation of the current referendum, with an increase of $500,000. If approved, Marshfield area property taxpayers would not see an increase on their tax bills until December 2021.
“This is to keep us going, to have these funds available,” said Board Member Sam Steiner, who also explained that the increase would be minimal compared to what taxpayers are paying now on the current $3 million referendum.
“There’s a need for this, not as an add-on, but as a necessity to keep our schools going because of what happened in the late 90’s which gave us the short end of the stick in terms of what the State is going to provide to us,” said Steiner. “This isn’t for frills or for extras. This is to keep what we have available as a shining star here in Marshfield.”
More information will be made available about the referendum in the upcoming weeks.
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Author: News Desk
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