Appleton superintendent outlines $15M-a-year referendum to cover deficit, add counselors and social workers

Greg Hartjes, superintendent of the Appleton Area School District, said the district will ask voters to approve a $15,000,000-per-year referendum for four years to cover an accumulated budget gap and expand student support services.

"It is a $15,000,000 per year for 4 years referendum," Hartjes said, adding the district estimates the tax cost at $15 per $100,000 of property; for a home valued at $300,000 he estimated a maximum additional charge of $45 a year.

Hartjes said $13,000,000 of that annual amount is intended to erase a budget deficit that accumulated over the last three fiscal years amid high inflation and minimal increases in state funding. "We want to be able to maintain all of our current programs, all of our current services, all of our current staffing," he said.

An additional $2,000,000 in the proposal would be directed to increased per-pupil spending. Hartjes displayed a chart comparing the state's 15 largest districts and said Appleton spends $16,208 per student, below the large-district average of $18,004.62 and the state average of $18,005.92. "So that's where the additional $2,000,000 came from," he said, citing community feedback and a district survey that residents want higher per-student investment.

Hartjes outlined how the district would use that $2,000,000 for student services. He said the district would add the equivalent of six school counselors, noting those would not all be full-time but would be spread so neighborhood schools could have counselor presence every school day rather than only part-time coverage in many elementary schools and at least one middle school.

The proposal also includes seven additional social-worker positions, increasing the district's staff from 14 to 21 — a roughly 50% rise intended to expand in-school social-work time and connections to community resources.

Hartjes said three positions would be added to support students who are learning English as a second language, calling the area a staffing priority because language skills affect long-term academic and community outcomes. He also proposed a half-time position focused on credit-recovery for high-school students who arrive credit-deficient and may need GED or HSED pathways to graduate.

Hartjes said he will present a future video explaining the $13,000,000 in cuts the district would face if voters reject the referendum. "In a future video, I'll talk more about the $13,000,000 that we will have to cut if we don't pass the referendum," he said.

The superintendent framed the request as a four-year, targeted ask to stabilize district finances and expand supports for mental-health, language and credit-recovery services; no vote or formal board action was recorded in this video.