By james art In addition to the presidential, congressional and state legislative races on Tuesday, voters in the Madison Metropolitan School District will be asked in two separate questions whether to allow the district to raise its revenue limits by more than $600 million.
Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard, in his first full academic year at the helm, made the case for the yes votes in an interview on the 365 Amplified podcast.
One issue affects the district’s operating budget over the next four years, and the other would provide capital improvements to 10 school buildings.
The operating budget referendum seeks to increase revenue caps by about $100 million over the next four years. That doesn’t necessarily commit the district to spending that much, but it allows for the possibility. That could increase property taxes on the median home by about $40 next year and by about $1,000 by 2028.
The additional funds will support staff salaries and benefits, which district officials say account for about 81 percent of the district’s annual expenses. The Madison School Board recently reached an agreement with Madison Teachers Inc for a 2.06 percent pay increase; if the referendum passes, staff will receive an additional 2.06 percent increase.
Last week, the school board adopted two separate budgets for the 2024-25 school year, one that would go into effect if the referendum passed and the other that would go into effect if it was not approved.
Neither budget would require immediate service cuts, but both would require dipping into the district’s savings — a bunch of money earmarked for one-time emergency expenses.
“Either way, it’s important for people to understand that we have a structural deficit, so we’re spending one-time funds to balance our budget for this school year,” Gothard said. “There are no cuts because this budget (approved last week) is for this school year, not next year. After Tuesday we will start working on our budget for 25-26. And even with a referendum, we will have to make some strategic decisions. There will be some spending that we can’t continue because we can’t continue to deplete one-time funding in our fund balance.”
The enacted budget, if the referendum passes, would reduce the fund balance by $22.4 million, bringing the balance to $92.3 million; the non-adoption budget would reduce it by $45.7 million, leaving a balance of $68.9 million. Gothard also said more severe cuts to programs and services would be needed in the coming years if the referendum is not approved, though he could not say specifically what cuts there might be.
The second question calls for increasing revenue restrictions by about $500 million over the next 23 years to make significant capital improvements to 10 of the district’s aging school buildings. That could raise the average home’s property tax by about $324 a year during that period.
Gothard said the school district currently spends about $5 million a year just to maintain the maintenance of buildings that are more than 60 years old with outdated heating and electrical systems.
That keeps the buildings functional, Gothard said, but “doesn’t really allow us to go into the school and dramatically change the learning environment for our students. And that’s exactly what this question is about. Yes, that’s a big question. It’s a large amount, but the opportunity to transform what students can experience in these 10 schools in our community is historic and will matter for the next 50, 75, 100 years in these identified buildings.”
Next week’s referendums follow a similar capital needs referendum approved in 2020 that helped renovate five high schools and the South Side elementary school.
“The transformation in our high school spaces is incredible. These are buildings I know intimately,” he said as a graduate of Madison schools and a longtime teacher and principal in the district. “I walk into these spaces and what I enjoy doing is just watching others enjoy these new spaces and being really proud of what this community has done to support us.”
Gothard said a lack of state funding is largely to blame for the district’s structural deficit. He said about 90 percent of the district’s funding comes directly from property taxes, which is unusually high; in other states, up to 80 percent of school district revenue comes directly from state aid.
Gothard noted that Madison’s population is expected to grow by up to 100,000 in the next 25 years, and the area needs to be ready.
“The best workforce I know is right in our 53 buildings right now,” he said. “These are kids we have the ability to reach and help them reach their full potential and think about careers they never thought they would have.” … I don’t want 100,000 added people in this community if we don’t take care of our kids … I want to make Madison a destination school district … we have to do that very strategically right now with our teams … to capture as many as possible many students who want to make Madison their school neighborhood community.”