The Wauwatosa School District is asking voters to approve two tax referendums: a $64.4 million referendum to increase the revenue limit and a $60 million referendum for building projects mainly at the elementary schools.
The questions are on the Nov. 5 ballot, along with the presidential election, a U.S. Senate election, Congressional races, and elections for Wisconsin Assembly and Senate.
The Wauwatosa referendums come after the school district discovered a $4 million budget error that occurred under a previous chief financial officer. Superintendent Demond Means says that gap was closed by not filling vacancies, making changes to employee health insurance and reducing the substitute teaching budget.
Means says the district has made changes to prevent a budget error like this from happening again. And, it now has a financial transparency page on its website.
"We are deeply regretful that this occurred," Means says. "But we're working very hard to regain the confidence of our taxpayers."
What are the referendum questions?
Question 1: Operating Referendum
The first question asks voters to allow the district to increase its revenue by $16.1 million per year, beginning in the 2025-26 school year and ending in the 2028-29 school year, for a total of $64.4 million.
The question on the ballot says:
Shall the Wauwatosa School District, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the statutory revenue limit by $16,100,000 per year beginning with the 2025-2026 school year and ending with the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of funding operational expenses, including salaries, benefits, and instructional and co-curricular programming?
Question 2: Capital Referendum
The second question asks for $60 million over 20 years for the district to address deferred maintenance at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools, along with Wauwatosa Montessori/Fisher. The funding would also pay for ADA renovations at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools, Montessori/Fisher, and Wauwatosa East and West High Schools.
The question on the ballot says:
Shall the Wauwatosa School District, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $60,000,000 for the public purpose of paying the costs of school building and facility projects consisting of: deferred maintenance and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) facilities standards capital projects at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools, and Montessori/Fisher and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) facilities standards capital projects at Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West High Schools?
Why does the district say these referendums are needed?
Operating referendum
Public school district funding in Wisconsin is capped by state-imposed revenue limits, which restrict how much districts receive in property tax funding and general state aid. Revenue limits determine the majority of schools districts' budgets.
The Republican-controlled state Legislature has not reliably increased revenue limits to keep pace with inflation — leaving districts to deal with increased costs without commensurate state funding.
To raise money beyond revenue limits, school districts must go to voter referendum. Wauwatosa along with about 80 other school districts placed referendums to raise revenue limits on the ballot this fall. It's become an increasingly common tool for school districts to balance budgets.
"We believe that we need more assistance from the Legislature," Superintendent Means tells WUWM. "They have an obligation in the [state] constitution to fund public schools in an adequate way. That's not happening right now."
The district is facing a budget shortfall of $9.3 million for the 2024-25 school year, and $61 million over the next five years. The district is using savings to cover its budget shortfall for the current school year, but says that is not an option long-term.
Of the $64.4 million operating referendum, district leaders say $52.4 million would cover the operational shortfall in the next four school years, $8 million would be used to increase compensation for educators, and $4 million would be used for curricular materials.
The district says without the referendum funding, it will need to "significantly reduce expenses." Some of the possible staffing cuts are outlined in this document.
Capital referendum
This referendum would pay for renovations to school buildings. The district says it has at least $150 million in deferred maintenance across all its schools and that the secondary schools are not equipped for "21st century learning needs of our students."
The $60 million in additional revenue would go towards addressing deferred maintenance at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools, as well as Wauwatosa Montessori/Fisher. It would also be used for ADA upgrades at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington Elementary Schools, Montessori/Fisher, and Wauwatosa East and West High Schools.
About a year ago, the school district explored closing some of its elementary schools to save money. But that idea faced significant community opposition.
"We know that closing a school is not a financial windfall for us — the savings are minimal," Means says. "But the strife and angst inflicted on a school community is substantial. We made the decision it's not in the best interest of our community to close an elementary school. We need to look at other strategies. And one of the strategies is going to voters [for referendum] this November."
Means says the district is considering changing its grade level configuration, moving sixth grade students to elementary schools and combining seventh and eighth grade with high schoolers. That would help increase enrollment in under-capacity elementary schools.
The district plans to convene an ad hoc committee in fall of 2025 to explore the new grade-level configuration. No final decision has been made.
What will the tax impact be?
According to the district, the $64.4 million operational referendum would result in an increase of $1.67 per $1,000 of property per year. For a $100,000 home, that would be a $167 increase. For a $300,000 home, that would be $501 increase.
The $60 million capital referendum, because it's funded by bonds over 20 years, would have a smaller tax impact of $0.43 per $1,000 per year. That equates to a $43 on a $100,000 home or a $129 increase on a $300,000 home.
If both referendums are approved, the tax impact on a $300,000 home would be about $630 per year.
The school district has a tool to calculate the tax impact for your home on its referendum information website.
