Northland Pines School District
Questions and Answers for Operational Referendum
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
We have compiled a list of questions and answers we have received regarding the February 15, 2022 referendum for the Northland Pines School District. The questions are listed below, click on the + sign in front of the question to view the answer.
This is an election where voters must bring a Photo ID in order to be eligible to vote. This includes absentee voters as well (would mail them). For more information, please contact your town clerk and see our website link http://bringit.wi.gov/do-i-have-right-photo-id
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The NPSD operational referendum will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Vote at the township in which you live. All polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Shall the Northland Pines School District be authorized to exceed state revenue limits by $4,600,000 each year for a period of three years on a non-recurring basis for each of the 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 school years, in order to maintain School District programs and operations?
The District believes it is fiscally responsible to propose some budget cuts/reductions and make budget adjustments as needed; therefore, the Board and administration is not asking the public for the entire amount needed.
The Board and administration feel that the operational needs of the district and the security needs of the district are equally important and they go hand-in-hand; therefore, it is one question. In addition, more than one question can become very confusing to the person voting. People have a tendency to vote for the lower dollar amount and say no to the other amount. We have also heard people do not realize they can vote on multiple items or questions.
If the referendum failed, the NPSD would have an average budget shortfall of $4.6 million for the following three years: 2022-23; 2023-24; and 2024-25. At that point everything would be on the table and some difficult decisions would need to be made regarding programs and staffing at NPSD.
As in the past, the Northland Pines School District must go to an operating referendum every three years. Once a district begins an operational referendum cycle, it must continue as long as the state has the same funding formula. At the end of each three year cycle, the previous referendum dollars must be removed from the budget and a new referendum may be placed on the ballot, asking for the revenues for the next three years.
a. The first three year operational referendum was passed in 2002; however, these referendum dollars were stretched into four years due to good fiscal management.
b. The second three year operating referendum was approved in 2006.
c. The third three year operating referendum was passed in 2009 for $2.9 million and again that referendum was stretched to cover four years.
d. The fourth three year operating referendum was passed in 2013 for $2.7 million per year for three years. e. The fifth three year operating referendum was passed in 2016 for $3.9 million per year for three years. f. The sixth three year operating referendum was passed in 2019 for $4.6 million per year for three years.
As fixed costs and expenses continue to increase and revenues and state funding continue to decline, the Northland Pines School District will have a projected average budget shortfall of over 4 million dollars per year for the next three years.
Contact your local or any state legislators. Different organizations from throughout the state have been trying to address this issue for a number of years. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made. Every district has a unique scenario so no matter what formula is proposed, you will always have winners and losers which makes changing the funding formula very difficult. Our current State Superintendent, Jill Underly, has proposed a new school funding formula to our legislators.
The DistrictAdministrator testified at the Joint Finance Committee expressing displeasure with the current funding formula and the lack of state aid Northalnd Pines receives during the lastest budget process. Administrators and board members have participated in the meetings pertaining to different proposals regarding the school funding formula. Yes, referendums will be a part of life until there are drastic changes in school funding.
Yes, since 1993 there have been 1,061 operational referendums to exceed revenue caps in the state of Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction website link is
https://sfs.dpi.wi.gov/Referenda/CustomReporting.aspx
You may go to this link and look at any historical referendum data from 1993 to present on all school districts in Wisconsin. Currently the Rhinelander School District, Three Lakes School District and Phelps School Distirct all operate under an operating referendum just like Northland Pines.
Yes, there are districts that don’t have to go to referendum. This is because their enrollment is increasing and they receive much more state aid than other districts as they are not “property rich” school districts. The current funding formula happens to work for their districts.
The school district is 474 square miles and the transportation cost is approximately $1,200,000 annually for transportation; bussing costs increase annually. This is one of the fixed costs that we cannot control due to the cost of fuel, state bussing laws and the demographics of our school district. This $1,200,000 is included in the revenue limit.
The K8 Building debt was retired in 2012 and is off the tax levy. The Land O' Lakes Elementary and St. Germain Elementary schools' debt was retired in 2014 and are off the tax levy. The Northland Pines High School debt will retire in 2024 and our last building will then come off the tax levy.
Your taxes are actually projected to decrease if the referendum for $4.6 million passes. In the third year of the upcoming referendum a significant decrease may take place due to the $2.4 million coming off the levy when the Northland Pines Middle and High School building is paid off. It is important to recognize if ths referendum passes, we do not add $4.6 million to the levy as there is already $4.6 million being taxed through levy, so there will be no additional impact. In other words, the current $4.6 million comes off the levy then we request to put it right back for next three years. A continuation is another way of looking at it. The estimatedtax implication with a passed referendum would be, per $100,000 value:
2021/22 $ 540.00 (current levy of $5.40)
2022/23 $ 539.00 (-$1.00)
2023/24 $ 536.00 (-$4.00)
2024/25 $ 468.00 (-$72.00)
Anyone that has a summer home or is a part time resident, if they own property/home in our district, pays the full amount of taxes assessed to them, so they contribute their fair share to the school district the same as any full time resident; however, they are not allowed to vote.
The Northland Pines School Districtis comprised of nine townships and one city. The following in Vilas County: City of Eagle River, Town of Cloverland, Town of Conover, Town of Land O' Lakes, Town of Lincoln, Town of St. Germain, Town of Plum Lake, Town of Washington, and part of the Town of Phelps. The Northland Pines School District conprises of the following in Oneida County: Town of Newbold. Northland Pines has two properties in the Town of Phelps that were detached from Phelps years ago.
The Federal dollars have a focus on keeping schools open during a pandemic, which we have done. Some of those funds were used last year to keep the District open 5 days a week with extra subs, cleaning materials, summer school, and technology. Using the federal dollars is challenging because there are a lot of stipulations. We cannot use them for general operations, rather they need to be used on learning loss and keeping school open now and into the future during a pandemic. Another aspect of the dollars is they are a one time. We have until 2024 to use them, however after that they expire and the district will need to go back to using only local and state funds. Thus far, we have used the dollars to positively impact learning and stay open. We have also used them a conservative way to allow us to bring back a referendum at the same dollar amount even with roof replacements and increased costs.
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