On Nov. 6, taxpayers in the School District of Monroe will have the opportunity to vote on two referendum questions that will affect the School District of Monroe.
Question #1 is asking to continue to exceed the revenue cap for $1.5 million per year for the next five years to provide revenues to maintain current programming, services, class sizes and elective offerings and sustaining the current replacement schedule for technology, curriculum and textbooks.
Question #2 is a bond issue request for $3.36 million over two years to provide a new HVAC system, ceiling, fire sprinklers, security and American with Disabilities Act upgrades, and bathroom remodeling at Parkside Elementary along with ADA and security upgrades, and bathroom remodeling at Monroe Middle School.
Passage of these questions will not add to the current property tax levy. The community voted to authorize exceeding the revenue limit by $1.5 million in 2016 for three years. That authorization expires at the end of the 2018-19 school year. The first question simply asks to extend that same amount for another five years.
The second question authorizing debt for maintenance projects would be offset by the previously expiring maintenance and safety question from 2016 and the debt service from the district projects 20 years ago that are expiring.
Right now, all school districts in Green County are under an operating referendum. This fall, Brodhead and Monroe are asking for non-recurring referendums (revenue cap increases over a set time period) while Juda and New Glarus are asking for recurring referendums (permanent levy increases). Albany and Monticello are not going to referendum this fall, but they are also currently under cap increases authorized by referendum.
We surveyed the community in the spring of 2018 and we received well over 1,000 responses to the survey. We asked the community for input on these proposed referendum questions and we also asked for feedback on future facility needs. Of those surveyed, there was 77 percent support for the operations question and there was 74 percent support for the bond issue question. It was indicated in the survey that the levy would not increase as a result of these questions.
Feedback from the survey also suggested that the district should explore consolidating from 3 to 2 elementary schools, that we should not build a new elementary school to replace the school that is in the worst condition and that there are many questions that need to be answered for the community before the future of the high school can be determined. While these issues do not directly affect this referendum, they will have an impact on the financial future of the district. We will continue to seek community input and investigate potential district facility needs and solutions in the coming months and years.
It is anticipated that the November 2018 election will have high voter turnout compared to recent fall gubernatorial elections. As a district, we are excited that so many residents will get to weigh in on whether they want to continue the current levels of support for the district.
If you have any questions on the 2018 Referendum for the School District of Monroe, please call me at 608-328-7135 or contact Ron Olson, our District Business Administrator, at 608-328-7148.
— Rick Waski is the district administrator for the School District of Monroe. He can be reached at 608-328-7109 or rickwaski@monroe.k12.wi.us.
