Maintaining an Environment of Excellence
2024 Referendum
The School District of Green Lake has announced an operational referendum that will be placed on the ballot for Tuesday, April 2, 2024. The purpose of the referendum is to seek voter permission to exceed the revenue limit. The revenue limit is a State law that sets a cap on the amount of revenue the school district can receive from state equalization aid and local taxes to pay for its operating expenses.
The operational referendum, which is set to take place in April 2024, seeks permission from voters to exceed the revenue limit for the next four budget years. The referendum will expire after this period, meaning it will be non-recurring.
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The 2024 referendum would pay District Operating expenses in four main areas: curriculum and education, financial and facilities upgrades, technology enhancements, and post graduate support programs. Each area is a direct correlation to providing the excellent education at Green Lake.
Maintain Curriculum and Educational Excellence
- K-12 School – Continuum of Curriculum
- Current Class Sizes
- Music – Band (5-12) & Choir (K-12)
- Art Instruction (K-12)
- World Language Beginning Grade 2
- International Baccalaureate School District: Primary Years Program (4K-6) Middle Years Program (7-10) Diploma Program (11-12)
- Remedial & Advance Math & Reading
- Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts & Math (“STEAM”) Projects Incorporated Into Classes
- Social Emotional Learning (“SEL”)
- Curriculum 4K–8
Enhance Technology Advancements
- Students One-to-One Technology Devices
- Technology Devices for Staff
Maintain Programs for Post-Graduate Success
- Moraine Park Partnership – Students Earn College Credit Math Courses
- Co-Op Program
- Academic and Career Planning (“ACP”) 6-12
- Workshops for College Applications and Essays
Maintain Financial and Facilities Upgrades
- Contributions to Facilities Building and Maintenance Fund
- Sustaining Fiscally Responsible General Fund Balance
- Partnership with Boys and Girls Club – After School Program
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On April 2, 2024, the Green Lake School Board is asking our community to approve an operational referendum that would allow the district to exceed its revenue limit over the next four school years.
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- Timeframe: The impact of the April 2024 referendum will be observed over four years, starting from December 2024 and ending with December 2027.
- Revenue from Previous Referendum: The April 2024 referendum continues the revenue from a 2020 referendum, specifically $1,400,000. This amount is considered "levy neutral" for December 2024 taxes, meaning it won't cause an increase or decrease compared to the December 2023 tax bills.
- Additional Amounts in Years 2, 3, and 4: Any amount exceeding the $1,400,000 from the April 2024 referendum in the following years will result in a tax levy increase. The levy increase is calculated as an incremental $0.15 per $1,000 estimated tax rate increase for each of the three years. For example, if your property is valued at $100,000, the increase would be $15.
- Calculation Basis: The estimated tax rates for all years are determined based on the property values from the year 2023.
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Limits amount of operating revenue a school district receives, from taxes and state equalization aid, to pay operating expenses.
Calculated each year using WI Dept. of Public Instruction (“DPI”) worksheet with district’s September enrollment numbers.
Legislative changes are considered during each State’s biennial budget process.
Voter approval needed to exceed revenue limit.
Bar graph below is Green Lake School District’s actual revenue limit for the past four years, and projected revenue limit for the next four years. Each bar is divided into the portion of the limit generated by an operational referendum and a portion of the limit generated strictly by the calculation under the law (“base”). The base in 2020-21 is greater than the base in 2023-24, which continues to decline over the next four years. Annual resident student enrollment trends create increases or decreases in the base. The District’s ability to maintain instructional programs and the inflationary impact on operating expenses is dependent upon the revenue approved by an operational referendum. The District receives no state equalization aid resulting in all funding provided by local property taxes. |
The ballot language will be in the form of a question to vote “Yes” or “No” and will read as follows:
Shall the School District of Green Lake, Green Lake County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,400,000 for the 2024-2025 school year, by $1,800,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $2,000,000 for the 2026-2027 school year, and by $2,200,000 for the 2027-2028 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational costs to maintain instruction programs, staffing, technology and facilities?
The School District’s 2020 Referendum was an operational referendum to exceed the State imposed revenue limit for four years which ended with this school year. The 2020 Referendum provided $1,400,000 of tax levy revenue for this year’s operating budget expenses which is no longer available to pay operating expenses for future budget years. Th e 2024 Referendum is asking voters to continue to exceed the revenue limit by $1,400,000 for the 2024-2025 budget year, by $1,800,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $2,000,000 for the 2026-2027 school year, and by $2,200,000 for the 2027-2028 school year.
The revenue limit is a State law (Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes) imposed on all Wisconsin school districts beginning in 1993. It limits the amount of revenues a school district receives from local property taxes and state equalization aid. However, the School District of Green Lake receives no state equalization aid, resulting in all funding provided by local property taxes. The revenue limit is calculated each year using the school district’s September enrollment count. If a school district’s enrollment declines or increases, the revenue allowed under the limit also declines or increases. A school district is required to ask voter permission, through an operational referendum, to levy taxes to increase revenues by exceeding the revenue limit.
The word “non-recurring” means the 2024 Referendum will expire after four years. The tax levy revenue to support the School District’s operating budget would be authorized for four budget years and then expires. Voter approval of an operational referendum would be required to continue to exceed the revenue limit beginning with budget year 2028-2029.
The State equalization aid formula was established in 1993 as a three-tiered formula that shares in funding school districts operating and debt service costs. The amount of funding available for all Wisconsin school districts is determined every two years as part of the State’s Biennial Budget. The formula includes a calculation of the amount of equalized property value per student. The School District of Green Lake’s $1.32 billion tax base produces a significant amount of property value per student. This factor applied to the aid formula results in no state equalization aid to provide taxpayer relief, leaving only local property taxes to fund the District’s entire operating budget.
There are 66 operational referendums held at the regular elections in February and April 2024. Between 2012 and 2023, there were 642 operational referendums.
The 2024 Referendum would pay operating costs to: sustain its quality programs and services, retain and recruit high-quality certified teachers, maintain and update technology, and to contribute funds to a capital improvement trust fund for facilities maintenance. The 2024 Referendum will also fund the inflationary cost impact on the School District’s operating budget. The monthly Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from July 2021 through December 2023 ranged from 3% to 9.1%. Each school year, Administrators and the School Board review the District’s operating expenses and the amount of revenue available to pay them, including the 2024 Referendum revenue. If State revenue limit laws or funding formulas change from year to year, the District cannot increase the amount specified in the 2024 Referendum revenues, but is allowed to decrease the amount.
Over the past few years, the School District built and maintained a fiscally responsible general fund balance to secure the District’s financial position and eliminate the need for cash flow borrowing. Approval of the 2024 Referendum will allow the District to sustain this strong level of financial flexibility.
If the 2024 Referendum is not approved, the District’s financial position could be weakened and create the need to borrow to pay operating expenses in a timely manner.
Fund balance is not like a “savings account” whereby money stays in an account and only used if a withdrawal is made to pay a bill. Fund balance is a working account that is used daily to pay the District’s operating expenses when other revenues, like property taxes, state or federal aid, have not been
received. It behaves like a school district’s internal line of credit. If a school district does not have enough fund balance to cover its operating expenses each month, the district will need to short-term borrow to pay its expenses. Short-term borrowing is repaid, with interest, until the district receives its revenue.
For the last five years, the School District of Green Lake has not cash flow borrowed due to the establishment of a fiscally responsible general fund balance.
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