Earlier this year, the school board considered the possibility of a referendum in the near future. Now, the board has made a decision and is aiming for an operating referendum later this spring.
On January 15, 2024, a special meeting was called to help determine when our school would be holding a referendum. A special meeting is a meeting that may be called in times of need, board members must be notified 24 hours in advance before the meeting starts. Our school board made a decision on when they would be holding an operating referendum. The public vote on the operating referendum will be held on April 2nd, 2024.
As many know by now, the school board has been considering operating and building referendums. An operating referendum is a referendum that is able to give the school board extra funds in order to counteract rising costs due to inflation. These funds from an operating referendum would allow our school to continue running as usual without any trouble caused by inflation and costs.
There are two reasons as to why we need an operating referendum right now. One of them is because of the state. The state gives every school a specific amount of money per student that they have. The state, for an unknown reason, has decided to not increase the amount of money it gives to schools. There have been some talks about increasing funds for schools, but they have not made any changes as of yet. Due to this, over the last 20 years, more than 80% of Wisconsin school districts in 2023 have put referendums on the ballot.
The second reason we need a referendum is because of our school’s fund balance. The fund balance is like a savings account for the school, and our school is using the money in that fund balance to pay for expenses. The fund balance is typically used for a couple of reasons. First, in case of emergency situations, when our school needs extra money in order to deal with them. Second, to keep the district from the need for short-term borrowing that would lead to increased interest payments. If our school were to continue operating without a referendum, they could end up using all of this money.
Our school has also been considering a building referendum, which our school can use to build on and renovate the school. An example of a building referendum was the building of the auditorium in 2016, which brought the auditorium as well as many other renovations across the school. Potosi School District has applied for a grant that would allow them to pay for a community tornado shelter with additional funding from a building referendum. This tornado shelter would also act as a new elementary gym because Potosi’s current elementary gym is very small.
The school board is still considering a building referendum. If they receive a grant, then our district will be able to schedule a vote on a building referendum. If the school receives the grant, the school will build a community tornado shelter, which could also act as a larger elementary gym. When asked about the grant, Mr Cohen said ”We’re still waiting. Everybody tells us that there are no issues with it; it's just a matter of we haven’t got the final approval.” He continued, “Originally they told us that it would come sometime in the summer, then they told us we would hear by January 1st, and here we are at the end of January and we are still waiting”
Potosi School District is in a very important position right now. The operating referendum on April 2nd will allow our school to continue to run normally. A building referendum could provide important additions to our school, such as a tornado shelter.