Ashland School District to Propose Referendum Again With Tweaks

Ashland residents will once again be asked to consider a school referendum with some adjustments after narrow failure on the November ballot.

According to an Ashland Daily Press report, school district officials are planning to reintroduce the referendum on the April ballot after it narrowly failed two months ago. The district is proposing a five year, $2 million referendum to cover operational costs like staff salaries, utility bills, and educational materials.

Under the original proposal, owners of a $200,000 home would have seen a property tax bump of $188 in the first year. The new proposal would include a reduced property tax increase of $122 for the same home value.

School District of Ashland officials say they’re facing a budget deficit of $1.55 million, and if the referendum fails again they’ll be forced to consider staffing and programming cuts. According to Superintendent Robert Prater, the district would likely cut over a dozen positions to rectify that deficit without the additional funding.

District officials also say the increased funding would allow them to increase teacher salaries. Staff turnover has been a major problem in recent years and district officials are looking to make their wages more competitive in comparison to neighboring districts.

Proposing operational referendums to local property owners has become a major staple of school funding in recent years. On the November ballot, over 25% of the districts across Wisconsin were asked to approve school funding increases. Over 100 of those referendum questions were approved, leading to a combined property tax increase of over $3.4 billion.

School officials have cited shared issues like inflation, decreasing enrollment, and the expiration of Covid-19 pandemic aid as causing the need for increased funding.