Cuba City school board sets referendum forecast, approves $65,000 tech and other restorations

The Cuba City School District board on Wednesday agreed on a draft referendum forecast for a possible April ballot, approving a package of budget items to include in the question and directing staff to return next week with multiple salary increase scenarios for modeling.

The action, taken during a special meeting about the district's finances and a potential referendum, included motions to restore a technology hardware line ($65,000), include four‑year‑old kindergarten funding, departmental budgets ($50,000 presented), teacher supply budgets ($38,000), curriculum resources (motioned at $125,000), tuition reimbursement for teachers (about $6,000), and a series of personnel restorations including a first‑shift high‑school custodian and an administrative assistant. The board also voted to reinstate an elementary math interventionist and an elementary special education teacher. All motions recorded in the transcript were carried by roll call.

Board members and staff framed the vote as establishing numbers for a referendum forecast — the dollar amounts would be used to build a ballot question and public materials but would not lock in future collective bargaining outcomes. Administration emphasized the difference between recurring and non‑recurring referendum structures: recurring increases a district's base revenue but is typically harder to pass; non‑recurring is time‑limited and can be reset after several years. The board directed staff to prepare scenarios for modeling, with members asking for options at roughly 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 percent salary escalation (and consideration of 3.5 percent) to show how different wage assumptions change the ballot amount.

Public commenters urged transparency and cautioned about asking voters for long‑term recurring commitments. One community member, Scott, said many voters fear committing to indefinite increases amid state funding uncertainty and urged the board to consider a shorter, non‑recurring ask that is explicit about what it would fund. A teacher and new board intern, identified as Sam in the record, recommended clearer online access to the documents accompanying each agenda item.

Administration presented background data showing how local Tax Increment Financing (TID) districts and new housing development affect tax bills and equalized value, and shared CESA 3 and statewide referendum pass rates from recent cycles to help the board estimate chances of passage. Staff also reviewed a long list of cuts previously considered — including athletics, positions, and program consolidations — and said the district currently projects about a $250,000 deficit next year if no referendum revenue is added.

Among the specific motions carried in the meeting (votes recorded in the transcript): the motion to reinstate the technology hardware budget (motion recorded with the roll call: "second Joel yes F yes white yes hinderman yes Paul yes Andrews yes"), the motion to include the 4K program funding (roll call recorded similarly), departmental budgets, teacher supplies, curriculum resources at $125,000, teacher tuition reimbursement, and personnel restorations including custodian and administrative assistant positions. The board also passed a motion asking administration to prepare salary/wage increase scenarios to be included in the referendum forecast materials. The transcript records each motion and a roll call of yes votes as noted above.

The board emphasized that the figures approved are for forecasting and voter materials; any final referendum language will be subject to further board action and legal review. The next board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, when members expect to select a final dollar amount to put on the ballot and authorize administrators and legal counsel to prepare official ballot language and election filings.