Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Funding Referendum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dodgeland video urges voters to approve $700,000-per-year school funding referendum
Summary
In a short Dodgeland School District finance video, presenter Todd Greco outlines a ballot question asking voters to allow the district to exceed the state revenue cap by $700,000 annually for four years to preserve elementary class sizes, electives, middle-school athletics and basic operations.
Todd Greco, a presenter in the Dodgeland School District's finance video, urged residents to vote April 7 on a ballot measure that would allow the district to exceed the state revenue limit by $700,000 per year for four years. "In just 7 days, Dodgeland voters will be asked if the school district will be allowed to exceed the revenue cap by $700,000 per year for 4 years," he said.
Greco said the funds would be used to maintain small elementary class sizes, sustain high-school electives and Advanced Placement programming, continue middle-school athletics and cover operational costs such as transportation, buildings and technology. "We wanna maintain small class sizes at the elementary level," he said, adding that the district's average class size is about 21 and that the district has previously reduced its budget, which has increased class sizes.
The video lays out specific program risks if the referendum fails. Greco warned that the district could be forced to eliminate middle-school athletics and would need to cut staff: "If we are unable to be successful with our referendum, we would be forced to reduce our faculty by 2 teachers and 1 paraeducator," he said. He also said two teacher positions might need to be removed from the bucket that supports electives and AP courses.
On operational matters, Greco said the district would defer some maintenance projects and technology upgrades and might eliminate a bus route, which could increase some students' bus rides to more than an hour. He listed elective examples that could be affected, including agriculture, art, business, music, Spanish and technical education.
Greco read the ballot question for viewers, stating it would authorize the Dodgeland School District, Dodge County, Wisconsin, to exceed the revenue limit specified in section 121.91 of the Wisconsin Statutes by $700,000 per year for four years "for nonrecurring purposes consisting of operational expenses to maintain class sizes at the elementary school level, sustain electives and advanced courses at the middle and high school levels, and continue middle school athletics." He directed viewers to the district website for more information and closed the video with a sign-off.
The ballot measure will be decided by voters on April 7; the district's video does not record a board vote on the matter but asks the community to participate in the election.
