May 12, 2022 at 11:57 a.m.
School committee approves language for November referendum
School committee approves language for November referendum
The question, approved Monday, is as follows: "Shall the School District of Rhinelander, Oneida, Lincoln and Langlade Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $4,000,000 per year beginning with the 2023-2024 school year and ending with the 2026-2027 school year for non-recurring purposes?"
If approved, this new referendum for "operational needs" would replace the current operational referendum which was approved in November 2018 and is set to expire in 2023.
In that referendum, the voters authorized the district to exceed the revenue limit by $4,250,000 per year for four years.
According to a memo included in the meeting packet, "over the past twelve years, the District has enhanced its educational programs, co-curricular programs, and updated its facilities without asking for any additional referendum support. Because the non-recurring referendum has been in place, the District has been able to improve and expand Central Elementary, Crescent Elementary, Pelican Elementary, Mike Webster Field, and construct the Hodag Dome with the help of our community partners. All facilities have been well maintained and upgraded. Over the past 12 years, the District has made upgrades to save utility costs, made changes to its health insurance and benefit plans to save money, maintained competitive salaries in order to attract and retain the best employees, provided students with the latest technology and curriculum, added co-curricular opportunities for students and reduced fees to our families and residents."
The district intends to hire The Donovan Group, which recently worked with Tomahawk and Elcho on their successful referendums, "to assist with the preparation of informational releases and social media content."
Their fee is $15,995, "for services between May and November of 2022," according to the memo.
During public comment, one meeting attendee questioned the need for an outside consultant at this price point.
"You've been doing this since 2011, I would think you'd have a pretty good handle on what you're doing, and why you're doing it and how to convey it to the public, so I don't see why we need to spend $16,000 for that process," Pam Gauthier said, adding that "there should be some accountability for test scores not improving."
Prior to the vote, district superintendent Eric Burke summarized the district's recent referendum history.
"Overall, the support of the community has been strong for SDR, especially over the last 12 years. We are a school district that supports our staff and families with wonderful programming, facilities and resources while being extremely fiscally responsible," he said, adding that raising test scores "is a big piece" of the district's strategic plan.
He conceded that the COVID-19 pandemic caused some challenges with regard to test scores, "but we still have made some great strides in that area and we believe that's going to pay off down the road," he noted.
"As someone that's fairly new to this community, it's both refreshing and encouraging to see the passion, excitement and love for our schools," he added.
Burke also noted that he worked with The Donovan Group to pass a building referendum in the Port Washington school district when he was employed there.
"I have worked with them and I think they're going to be able to help us with messaging," he said.
The committee did not formally approve the hiring of The Donovan Group as the $15,995 cost is below the threshold. As committee chairman David Holperin explained, the district administration, "using their good discretion" can spend up to $25,000 without having to come to the board for approval.
"Anything over that would have to go through committee and ultimately the full board," he added.
Committee member Ron Lueneburg made the motion to approve the referendum language. His motion received unanimous approval.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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