Wausaukee School Referendum Defeated By Slim 21-Vote Margin By a narrow 21-vote margin, Wausaukee School District voters on Tuesday, June 24 defeated a referendum that would have allowed the district to exceed state imposed levy limits by $575,000 and operate in the black for at least one more year. There were 1,107 votes cast 1,107, quite a heavy turnout for a single-issue election. Outcome was 543 votes in favor and 564 opposed.
The narrow defeat compares to a total of 1,728 votes cast in the referendum held in conjunction with the Spring primary on Tuesday, Feb. 19. At that time there were 394 votes in favor of a much larger levy amount, and 1,334 votes against it. At that time the board sought $5.25 million over a 5-year period.
The board found ways to trim over $900,000 from the budget before going back to the voters.
The referendum was approved in Town of Wausaukee, 210 to 145; in the village there were 95 votes in favor and 36 against, and in the Town of Wagner voters favored the referendum by a 91 to 72 vote margin. That support was not enough to overcome the negative votes in Amberg, 87 to 105; Athelstane, 34 to 130, and Silver Cliff, 26 to 76. The scattering of Middle Inlet votes were cast with the Village of Wausaukee and the few residents in Porterfield voted with Wagner.
District Administrator Jan Dooley termed the referendum outcome, “very disappointing.” She said the next step may be taken by the Board of Education at their regular monthly meeting Thursday, June 26. One of the agenda items is, “Approve resolution to consider dissolution of the School District of Wausaukee to be effective July 1, 2009.”
She explained dissolution is a 2-part process. By June 30 the board must pass a resolution for it to possibly become effective in the coming year. Then a vote to order dissolving the district would have to occur in July. If the board passes those two resolutions, then the School District Boundary Appeals Board would be convened. It consists of seven people, two from a large school, two from a medium school and two from a small school, plus State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster or her designee. They would hold monthly hearings and attempt to determine how to split up the district. Students, along with district assets and debts, would be assigned to other districts. In the meantime, “It isn’t too late, the board could vote to go to referendum again, and if the referendum would pass it would be weighed by boundary appeals board to affirm or deny dissolution,” Dooley said.
That is what happened at Florence. Between the two resolutions for dissolution, members of the public collected signatures on petitions for another referendum. The referendum was held and it passed. In the meantime the Appeals Board had been holding monthly hearings and taking testimony. In 2005, finally dissolution was finally denied because by then the referendum had passed and they had sufficient income.
For now, Dooley commented, “We’ll have to wait and see what the Wausaukee Board does tomorrow night.
“My question is how long can we continue to operate with a negative fund balance? We asked the voters for money to operate. They refused,” Dooley said.
She said there are other districts in the state operating with deficit budgets, spending down their fund balances, but to her knowledge Wausaukee is the only district operating with a negative fund balance.
She feels hopes for a state “bail out” are in vain. She said there are many districts in almost the same financial position as Wausaukee, and if the state Les one it will have to help them all. “I don’t see the state intervening by offering assistance to Wausaukee over and above what is offered ot all districts in the state, because then the floodgates would open. The only chance would be a change in the state aid formula.”
“We have cut, and we have cut to a level that we feel we cannot risk cutting more staffing without losing kids,” Dooley declared. “I think everyone in the district should be asking, ‘What do we want for the children of our district, and what do we need to do to bring that about?’ Our children don’t deserve to have more programs cut on them,” she declared. “This is about children and their futures! I am an educator at the core of my being and this resonates deep within me. Right now it’s the children that are at the forefront in my mind.”
She said Wausaukee is at a point where “We’re caught in what I call the death spiral. We have established what we believe is a sound education for our children. If we cut more, parents will say I want more, so they will take their children and put them into another district. If we cut more, we risk losing more students, which means we lose more aids, and have to cut still more programs. it’s a downward spiral that won’t end.”
“The children in the School District of Wausaukee deserve an education that is no less than any other children in the state,” she declared.
Official canvass was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 25 in the school office. Results were not available at press time, but Secretary Mary Ellen Edlebeck predicted no change in results. She said the 3-member board, consisting of herself, Board Clerk Ken Jones, and office staff member Kelly Stumbris will review paperwork the clerks have submitted to be sure the numbers called in are accurate, but she doubts they will find any errors.
After concluding standard items on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting the board will go into closed executive session to discuss the transportation coordinator position, administrative/non-union support staff contracts, AFSCME arbitration, and insurance language in the Wausaukee Education Association contract. After returning to open session the board could act on any or all of those items. The meeting agenda includes discussion by Jim Keyzers on a school maintenance issue, a retirement, and discussion and action on continuing the SAGE pogram.
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Yes
No
Undecided
