By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Monroe school board requests counsel to draft operational referendum question
AD Newcomer leaving his post for Sussex Hamilton
School Board 2

MONROE — The School District of Monroe Board of Education asked its legal counsel to draft potential operational referendum questions at its July 8 meeting.

The district faces more than a $2 million deficit, directly linked to more than a decade of shaved funding from the state. 

A $1.5 million operational referendum — passed in 2016 and extended in 2018 — expired on June 30. 

“It’s a known cost that people have already had on their budget,” said Ron Olson, Business Administrator. 

District Administrator Rodney Figueroa said the recommendation by administration is for it to be a recurring referendum — meaning the added taxpayer funds would continue year after year without needing to be passed again by voters a second time or more.

“It would be our recommendation that the board consider recurring and considerate at the current amount so it has the impact that we’re talking about — that zero-impact — on the property tax bills as they’ve had in the past,” Figueroa said. “I think a combination of a recurring referendum for $1.5 million in addition to some other budget cuts like attrition that we experience through the school year is the way to go.”

Board member Terri Montgomery asked how long a recurring $1.5 million referendum would last before inflation and other factors would get to the point where the budget would run into a drastic deficit again.

Olson said that while it is unknown and in flux, he said it would probably be a window of 3-4 years before yet another question would need to be asked of taxpayers. 

Olson will prepare projections in the fund balance that $1.5 million, $2 million or $2.6 million would hold and present in an upcoming board meeting. The next Board of Education meeting will be held Monday, July 22.

In other action, the board accepted the resignation of Monroe High School Athletic/Activities Director Jeff Newcomer. 

Newcomer, an MHS grad and the baseball coach this past spring, has been at his post since 2016. The district is immediately looking to hire for both roles.

To view the entirety of the July 8 meeting, go to https://tinyurl.com/2w2nmjbu. All regular Board of Education meetings are livestreamed on the district’s YouTube Channel: MonroeSchoolsWI.