From Paul Garvoille

Albany

To the editor:

The Albany referendum is on the April 2 ballot. The 2010 addition will be paid off allowing taxes to drop by $162 per $100,000 home. The school wants to re-spend that money by tearing down the 2010 addition, and building a new addition/Community Center in its place. This will cost some homeowners hundreds of dollars annually.

Department of Public Instruction provides school tax information for every Wisconsin school district. Of 368 districts, the average school tax rate is $9.46. Albany’s is $13.36 to 41.5 percent higher. Albany’s is the 10th highest in the state.

DPI tax rates use actual property values vs. assessed values. They call their valuation the “equalized value,” and said it provides a very accurate comparison between districts. DPI data shows that Albany Schools tax $1,100 more per student than the state average, and more than every neighboring district.

Albany’s tax rate historically followed the average until 2009.  Every year since, Albany’s rate has risen progressively higher. The 2009 spending that started this trend, built the addition that the school now wants to demolish. The economy was terrible in 2009, yet the school followed up with referendums in 2012, 2016 and 2019. The school is using “safety” to push their referendum. The school received $80,000 in safety grants last summer. A portion of that money was used to put shatterproof film on some of the entrance doors they now want to tear down. There are certainly ways to improve safety for less than $2.75M.

The school has an operational fund budget surplus. Superintendent Bill Trow has said smaller project improvements to facilities can be paid for with these funds. The school is not closing, and students will not be forced to go to other schools if this referendum fails.

“Tax neutral” does not mean “free money.” If this referendum passes, and the new Community Center is built, the school said there will be another referendum in 5-8 years to tear down the existing Community Center. Albany’s taxes will remain among the highest in the state for 10-20 years. 

Albany is one of the lowest performing schools in the state, according to report card information from the state DPI. It has one of the highest tax rates. The spending needs to stop, and it can, by voting NO.