BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Voters in the Howard-Suamico School District will see a referendum question on Tuesday’s ballot that asks them to allow the district to exceed state revenue limits by up to $4,000,000 per year for an indefinite amount of years.
Communications Coordinator Brian Nicol says that money is needed to avoid a projected $3,000,000 budget deficit in the 2017-18 school year.
He notes tight finances already caused the district to defer 100% of its maintenance projects this year. If the referendum fails, Nicol says not only will that happen again in 2017-18, but class sizes will increase as roughly a dozen staffers will be let go.
The communications coordinator says the district has $7,200,000 in immediate facility repair needs.
Nicol says Howard-Suamico is in the bottom 10% of the state in funding. In recent years, district leaders have noted a lack of support from Madison.
If the referendum is successful, Nicol says it will primarily fund three areas: student support, staff compensation, and maintenance needs.
Nicol notes the funds from this referendum would not put Howard-Suamico ahead of other districts or even bring it to the state average for funding. He says it would merely help them stay afloat.
In December 2017, a successful referendum would cost the owner of a $150,000 home an extra $179 in property taxes.
The mill rate would increase from the current $9.19 to $10.38 per thousand dollars of assessed value.
Nicol says the average homeowner in Howard would pay an extra $250. That jumps $30 in Suamico.
If it does not pass, Nicol says the tax rate would likely stay around $9.19 per thousand, where it has been for the past two years.
Howard-Suamico’s last successful referendum came in 2014. It allowed $13,400,000 for facility upgrades.
Nicol says the district is still paying off debt from that referendum as well as one from 2008, noting the last of the debt is not currently projected to fall off until the year 2034.
At this point, Nicol says no date has been identified for when the district might stop exceeding the revenue limit, if the referendum passes.
