Riverdale School District Referendum

The Riverdale School District has a projected deficit of $492,911 for 23-24, $610,606 in 24-25 and $885,851 in 26-27. Among the ballot questions today (Tuesday) is an operational referendum for the Riverdale School District. Residents of the district will be asked, “Shall the Riverdale School District, Grant, Richland, Iowa and Crawford Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $800,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $800,000 for the 2026-2027 school year, and by $1,185,000 per year beginning with the 2027-2028 school year and ending with the 2029-2030 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational costs to maintain instructional programs, staffing, technology, transportation and facilities management?”

A successful Operational Referendum will allow the Riverdale School District to continue providing educational programming to meet the needs of students and attain the district’s mission.

The revenue limit is a state law which caps the amount of revenue the school district receives to pay operating expenses. Revenue Limits cap what the school district can receive from the state and taxpayers from aid and levy dollars. Revenue limits were capped in 1993. That means that what the district spent per student in 1993 is what it was capped at. A number of things in recent years has made it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of students and community without exceeding these caps. It is not uncommon for districts to go to referendum to raise more than their caps set by the state, which were created in the early 1990s. In Spring of 2024, 103 Wisconsin school districts went to referendum.

The tax impact if passed would be an additional $157 per $100,000 of property value and $115 per $100,000 each year after for the duration of the referendum.