School Referendums Include Items that Should Have Been Covered by Covid Aid and Other Grants

Over 100 school districts throughout Wisconsin want voters to approve $4.3 billion in referendum requests in the Nov. 5^th election.

That brings the total number of questions this year to 241, perhaps the most ever in a single year. The total dollar amount for the year is $5.9 billion, but the actual amount taxpayers would end up paying is much, much higher. It’s also incalculable.

Recurring, Non-Recurring, and Debt Referendums

$3.5 billion of the requests are to “issue debt.” That’s just the amount the districts want to borrow. It does not include interest. Just like with a home mortgage, taxpayers end up pay a lot more over time than they originally borrowed.

$214 million of the requests are for “recurring referendum.” That means they would permanently increase the tax levy by $214 million a year. It is impossible to add up exactly how much extra taxpayers would end up paying if those referendums pass, because technically, it’s infinite.

Finally, $538 million of the requests are for “non-recurring referendum.” This is the only dollar amount stated in the referendum questions that you can take to the bank (or rather the school districts can take to the bank) if they pass. Each question states how many years the district would increase its tax levy for and how much it plans to collect over that time period. You have to divide the requested amount by the number of years in the question to calculate the per year amount.

Schools Never Give Up

When a referendum fails, districts rarely give up on the spot. They can take that question back to taxpayers repeatedly until they finally relent. (There are no more do-overs after that.) Therefore, it’s not surprising, that 19 school districts that had referendums fail in the spring and are trying again this fall.

Most of them lowered the asking amount, which is typical. However, a couple of them are going for broke. Cuba City, for example, asked for $7.1 million over four years in the spring ($1.775 million a year). It’s now asking for a recurring referendum of $1.8 million a year, presumably hoping voters don’t do the math.

Voters in the De Soto Area School District rejected a $4.8 million over 4-year non-recurring referendum in the spring ($1.2 million a year). The district is now asking for $5.5 million over three years ($1.83 million a year.)

What Schools Want

School districts usually tell voters what they want the extra money for in the referendum question. It’s essentially a sales pitch to convince voters that they should pay higher taxes. However, when the referendums pass, there’s no requirement that districts spend the money on what they told voters it was for.

The reasons stated in this fall’s referendum questions vary greatly. Two common requests, however, stand out as suspect: security and IT.

Security Requests

There are 24 districts going to referendum, in part, for security upgrades. Most of those requests are to “issue debt.” The reason why this request is questionable is because the Wisconsin Department of Justice has awarded $103 million in school safety grants since 2018. Those 24 districts that are asking voters for more security money received a combined $7.7 million over that time period. The Green Bay Area School District, which is asking voters for $183 million this fall, has already received $2.2 million from state taxpayers for security upgrades. What was actually spent on security then, and what the district actually plans to spend on security now is a very fair question.

IT Requests

There are 9 districts going to referendum for IT upgrades. This request is suspicious because the federal government just gave Wisconsin school districts a total of $2.9 billion in Covid relief aid. Educational technology was one of the primary purposes of that aid. The 9 districts that are going to referendum, in part, for IT received a combined total of $108 million in Covid relief.

Both Security and IT Requests

Three districts’ referendums include both security and IT requests.

Marshfield United School District has a $71.575 million referendum to issue debt on the ballot. It got $7.2 million in Covid relief and $404 thousand in school safety grants. It still doesn’t have a secure entrance at the high school.

Sparta Area School District has an $87 million referendum to issue debt on the ballot. It got $8.3 million in Covid relief and $368 thousand in school safety grants. It apparently has yet to “Secure entrance at Meadowview Middle School.”

Bonduel School District has a $2.4 million non-recurring referendum on the ballot. It got $2 million in Covid relief and $104 thousand in school safety grants. It still lacks basic cybersecurity, standardized entrances, comprehensive visitor tracking, and dozens of other security and IT items.

Taxpayers' Recourse

There are two main things that taxpayers in those districts can do about this situation. First, they can vote accordingly on the referendums this fall. Secondly, they can bring the matter to their state representatives. A new state budget is right around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to ask schools (and every other government agency that has a stake in it) what exactly they’re doing with the taxpayer funds they’ve already received.