The "Why" and "What" of two February 20th Referendum Questions

River Falls School District Superintendent Jamie Benson spoke to our club about the referendum, with voting to occur on February 20th -- less than one month  He started by introducing school board member Alan Tuchtenhagen and David Bell, Jamie’s successor as superintendent.  Benson noted that citizens have been informed of the referendum details by mail, and there have been and continue to be community forums for those who want to hear more detail and/or ask questions.  For details beyond what is summarized below, you can go to http://www.rfsd.k12.wi.us/referendum2024.

 

Jamie started with good news about our school district.  RFSD has a 4-star rating – above expectations -- on the state ‘Academic Performance Report Card’.  He emphasized that, beyond academics as the core, RFSD provides a variety of enrichment and service opportunities.   Jamie also noted that City survey questions about schools received high marks.  Ratings were also high when parents were asked for feedback about their schools.  Click Read More for the rest of the summary.

 

Jamie described the primary challenge facing the district as coming from Wisconsin’s reliance on an antiquated funding formula (created in 1993).  Despite ranking 418th out of 421 school districts in per-student state funding, the district has not previously asked taxpayers to approve a referendum for operations.  Facing a deficit of $1 million next year that is projected to increase, the School Board and administration have decided to join the 80% of districts who’ve gone to the community for supplemental operating funds.  He noted that the legislature put a “floor” of $11,000 per student, which is the amount of River Falls state funding. Jamie also described the tax implications associated with each referendum question.

 

Voters will see two questions on referendum.  Question 1 is operational funding, which as it says is for ongoing day-to-day expenses;  Question 2 is for facilities, and it will use the word “bond” because it’s a long-term obligation similar to a mortgage.  Question 1 has the simple objective of providing supplemental funding for day-to-day operations, while Question 2 has 3 main objectives:  1) security/building systems/grounds; 2) transportation center improvements; and 3) a multipurpose indoor athletic facility.  As noted above, you can go to http://www.rfsd.k12.wi.us/referendum2024.