Jeff Wright, Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District, spoke to the Sauk Prairie Optimist Club on February 25 about the upcoming school referendums on April 7th. There are two referendums on the ballot: one is a capital referendum for needed facility upgrades and the other is for operating funds due to decreasing state funding.
The 2014 capital referendum, which came in under budget and was paid off early, addressed issues at Tower Rock, and built Bridges elementary school. Another referendum was passed in 2020 to renovate and expand the High School and Merrimac. The 2026 capital referendum, scaled back after community input, funds aging HVAC/infrastructure, safety issues, and space constraints at the Middle School and Grand Avenue Elementary School. Neither school has had major updates in the last 30 plus years.
The Operational Referendum is a first for the District, although 90 percent of the school districts in Wisconsin have passed similar referendum measures. It is necessary because state government payments to schools have not been tied to inflation since 2009. This means that the inflation-adjusted state payments per student are now $3,400 per student less than they were when the current senior lass was born. The Operational Referendum amount is $3.232 million, but less than that amount will be spent each year, depending on funding from other sources.
Tours and informational sessions are as follows. If you have questions on this referendum, please attend to get your questions answered.
Middle School tours/open house: Monday, March 23, 9-10 a.m. at the Middle School, 207 Maple Street, Sauk City.
Informational sessions: Monday, March 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, March 25, 7-8 p.m. Both sessions held at the District Office at 440 13th Street, Prairie du Sac.
Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright, left, and Optimist President Carol May at the February 25 Optimist Meeting, where Wright spoke of the upcoming referendums.
