The referendum question will be on the November 5, 2024 general election ballot. It will be printed on all ballots for residents who live within the boundaries of the Berlin Area School District.
The Berlin Area School District will have ONE referendum question on the ballot on November 5, 2024.
The ballot question will be in the form of a “Yes” or “No” questions and will read as follows:
"Shall the Berlin Area School District, Green Lake, Waushara and Winnebago Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $802,156 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $1,263,061 for the 2026-2027 school year, by $2,125,956 for the 2027-2028 school year, and by $2,874,340 for the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational costs to maintain instructional programs, staffing, technology and facilities?"
There are two types of school referendum questions available to school districts in Wisconsin. These two types are operational and capital. The Berlin Area School District referendum question that will be on the ballot on November 5, 2024 is an operational referendum question.
If approved by the voters, an operational referendum gives the Berlin Area School District Board of Education authority to increase its tax levy by a set amount each year as listed in the operational referendum question, which in effect provides more revenue for the district. An operational referendum pays for all the basic expenses to run a school district such as salaries and benefits of all staff, transportation, utilities, building maintenance, curricular materials, educational programs, athletics, insurance, and supplies. Referendums are presented as a ballot question for voters to approve/disapprove.
If approved by the voters, a capital referendum gives a school district’s Board of Education authority to borrow money to invest in large assets such as buildings and equipment that are too costly to be covered by the annual budget. Capital borrowing almost always involves loans of anywhere from 10 to 20 years. The Berlin Area School District does NOT have a capital referendum question on the November 5, 2024 ballot.
There are two types of operational referendum questions in Wisconsin: recurring and nonrecurring. The question on the November 5, 2024 ballot is a non-recurring question. It gives the School Board authority to exceed the state imposed revenue limit by a set amount of money for four fiscal years: 2025-26, 2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29. The authority ends at that point. If the School Board determines they need to extend the authority to exceed the revenue limit, they would have to go back to the voters in the future.
The school tax mill rate is the amount of revenue (taxes) collected per $1,000.00 of property. To calculate the mill rate from your property tax bill, add the net tax for the school-Berlin Area line to the “school levy tax credit” amount, divide that total by the “total estimated fair market value” and multiply by 1000. This is the school mill rate for the tax year.
If the voters approve the operational referendum on November 5, 2024, the tax impact would not be felt until the 2025-26 fiscal year. The estimated tax impact for the 2025 tax bill will be (include amount). This assumes no increase in the estimated fair market value of the property, which typically goes up each year, as property values increase.
The Berlin Area School District has already made significant reductions in expenses to help close the budget gaps and lower the amount of taxing authority requested of the public through referendum. These reductions in expense and cost saving measures include:
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Reductions in staff totalling over $1,000,000 in savings for the 2024-25 school year
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Prepayment on capital debt loans for past school construction, saving interest costs
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Eliminating two school bus routes within two miles of the school district
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Increasing class sizes across all three schools
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Reductions in school and department budgets
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Reductions in athletic budgets
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Increasing energy efficiency
If the voters approve the referendum on November 5, 2024, the following are some of the benefits to the students and community:
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Reduce the need for dramatic cuts in teaching and support staff positions
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Retain and attract high quality teachers and staff
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Provide more support for teaching and learning
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Maintain educationally appropriate class sizes to maximize learning
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Continue to fund innovative and enriching program for students
If the voters do NOT approve the referendum on November 5, 2024, the following are some of the impacts:
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Eliminate 10-15% of all teaching and support staff positions in the district
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Negatively impact the district’s ability to retain and attract quality teachers and staff
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Increase class sizes beyond what is educationally beneficial
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Significantly impact the district’s ability to positively impact student learning
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Review further reduction in bus routes, including increased student travel time
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Reduce school and department budget by 20%
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Reduce the athletics budget by 20%
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Defer maintenance and capital improvements
Like all Wisconsin schools, Berlin Area School District operates under state-imposed revenue limits that restrict the amount of money a district can receive. Over the years, our revenue limit has decreased. Not unlike all other school districts in Wisconsin, school revenue has decreased and inflation has increased. Fixed costs such as staffing, utilities, and transportation have increased at a rate much quicker than state funding.
The school district is not alone in declining enrollment. The majority of school districts in Wisconsin and across the country are experiencing declining enrollment due in part to fewer young children being born and an aging population. This is particularly the case in smaller, rural communities. When a district declines in enrollment, so to the per pupil revenues, which are never equal to the reductions in costs. For example, if the district has a reduction in 10 students, the district loses the equivalent state and local revenue for 10 students. Yet, if those 10 students are spread out in 10 different grade levels, the cost savings to the district is minimal and far less than the revenue lost. This is an issue with the way the state funds public schools without accounting for the challenges a district faces when they experience declining enrollment. The only option the state provides districts is to go to referendum and ask the public to grant the district funding authority.
The operating referendum is based on a projection of future enrollment and revenue limit authority given to the district by the state legislature. While future state budgets are somewhat unpredictable, there is good data to show that the Board of Education should plan for annual budget deficits for years to come. The state has a biennial budget process
The district is projecting a structural (ongoing and growing) budget deficit, that grows about $1 million per year, so that without an operational referendum, the district’s budget shortfall will grow to over $4 million within the next 4 years.
2024-25
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2025-26
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2026-27
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2027-28
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$1,085,364
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$2,002,003
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$3,091,781
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$4,024,976
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*Based on the Robert W. Baird Budget Model (prepared October 11, 2022) for the Berlin Area School District
The solution to this problem will require the Board of Education, supported by administration, to take a three-pronged approach:
1. Continue to manage and reduce expenses according to student enrollment and needs.
2. Continue to reallocate funding between accounts to sustain necessary programming.
3. Ask voters to increase our revenue limit authority through an operating referendum on the November 5, 2024 ballot.
The district has not asked for additional revenue in the 30 years that revenue limits have existed and has done a good job controlling taxes and managing or reducing expenses. While we will continue to control costs, and manage expenses, we no longer see any other alternatives to help us sustain the breadth of programming and quality staff to educate the Berlin area students without a successful operating referendum.
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