Waupaca schools present budget shortfall, urge voters to back two-year operational referendum

Waupaca — Waupaca School District Administrator Mark Clayton told the city council on March 3 that the district is a low-spending, low-tax district facing a growing funding gap and is asking voters to approve a two-year operational referendum on April 7.

Clayton said the district spends about $2,200 less per student than neighboring districts and about $2,700 less per student than the state average. He told the council that if the district’s budget had simply kept pace with inflation since 2009 it would have roughly $6.7 million more in current resources. Clayton said the referendum is intended as a bridge for two years while the legislative landscape evolves.

Clayton outlined four pillars of the presentation — efficiency, low tax impact, high-quality results and the growing funding gap — and emphasized program preservation. He cautioned that even if the referendum passes the district may need to reduce some staff through attrition and that some class sizes could increase, but that those cuts avoid the larger risk of eliminating programs. “On a $200,000 home, the impact of the operational referendum is about 50¢ a day,” Clayton said.

Clayton also provided operational figures cited to the council: about 600,000 square feet of learning space, roughly 1.5 miles of hallways, 12.7 acres of roof area, a staff of over 320 and a biweekly payroll described as about $750,000. He encouraged voters to seek more information from the district website and social media and to vote on April 7.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about the presentation and were directed to an information session and handouts for additional detail. The presentation was delivered as information for the council and the public; no formal council action on the referendum was taken at the meeting.