Augusta School District considers options after failed referendum
AUGUSTA - There were three school referendums in the Tri-County Area on the ballot in the recent spring election held back on April 7.
Two of those referendums passed overwhelmingly, in both Fall Creek and Eleva-Strum.
One of those did not and it lost by a significant margin.
Voters in the Augusta School District rejected the proposed two-year, $750,000 operational referendum proposed by the District by a vote of 693-550 or 56 percent to 44 percent. The funds were going to be used to close a $630,000 budget gap between projected revenues and expenses and continue to operate programs that are available or mandated and keep up staff. Cuts would have to been made even if the referendum passed.
Now the district looks to what options it has going forward, including either more cuts to the its budget for the 2026-27 school year or another referendum this fall or the following spring in 2027.
"A failed referendum is not an end, but a pivot point," Augusta School Superintendent Reed Pecha said in a statement. "We recognize that there are concerns regarding the budget and long term financial health of the District. Moving forward, we are committed to high student achievement, transparency, fiscal stewardship, and keeping the citizens informed about the immediate challenges we face and how we plan to manage them within our current constraints."
But it's not so much a failed vote or how to put together a budget for next school year that's really the problem facing the district, but a divided and bitterly so community whose vitriol towards each other extends both on social media, such as local community Facebook pages, and the Board meetings themselves. When a citizen directly accuses a Board member at the School Board meeting back on March 25, in this case Bill Perrotti, of a violation of state law concerning district emails being forwarded to his personal email account and other accounts and demanded his resignation (the second time this has happened since he's been a member of the Board), during the meeting in very personal terms, this discussion goes way beyond numbers.
To this charge, Pecha said that Perrotti is complying with the opens records request for his emails in a timely fashion and also said that Perrotti told him he deleted them. Pecha said that such emails should not be on personal accounts or shared to outside accounts lest they be subject to subpoena. Perrotti did not respond to an email request for a response to these charges.
Aside from this, the fact that with all the informational meetings the District held on the proposed referendum and discussion at School Board meetings and such, district voters could not be brought around to support it. This stems largely from a unexpected budget shortfall that was discovered in the fall of 2024 just shortly after the District's annual meeting approved the outlines of the 2024-25 school budget plus the levy. There are still citizens wondering how this shortfall happened and if money was somehow stolen, although no charges or evidence has been produced to show this. There are those who think even deeper cuts, especially to administration, different funds or extra curricular programs, can and or should be made. There are also those who feel that a District referendum which passed in November of 2022 with 66 percent of the vote for $10.5 million in new facilities was too much for the district to handle when it came to long-term maintenance costs that are now part of the budget. Reuniting the community to the extent of at least producing a majority for a referendum, remains the task facing the district.
"I think the best way is to have a united front and message. That will help build unity and trust." Pecha said.
Whatever happens there will be a new school board members to deal with it. Two new members were elected for three-year terms during the spring elections: Renee Barka was first with 823 votes or 37.56\ percent. Next was Tammy Stensen 521 votes or 23.78 precent . Incumbent School Board President Gordie O'Brien finished third with 439 votes or 20.04 percent and also on the outside looking in was Aaron Vizer, 400 votes or 18.26 percent. Other members of the Board are Perrotti, Kari Kirkham and Ashley Heinrich. Kelsey Lee decided not to run for re-election this year.
Barka had this to say about the referendum in a candidate survey published in the Tri-County Area Times newspaper:
"I find that the referendum question is dividing many community members," Barka said. "Many state that they want to know specifically how our budget became so low before they would offer to give more money. They want to feel confident that whatever the reasons, it won't continue to happen. The other side, however, is that our budget is where it is today. State funding is not keeping up with inflation. Spending needs to be looked at extensively. We do not want to cut programs such as fine arts and sports. We may need the community's help at some time."
What cuts may be made for now according to Pecha may be made through attrition i.e. not filling open positions due to resignations or retirements as they have done in the past. The District has also sold land it owns near Memorial Park for funds and gotten state loans to fill the initial budget shortfall back in 2024 that it's paying on. Like many small, rural districts in Wisconsin, declining enrollment due to declining local populations and birth rates means less in state aid, which forces district's to scramble to have the funds to be able to hire teachers, offer programs and such and continue basic functions like food service and transportation, the costs of which have gone up considerably since 2020. Thus referendums are held in districts across the state to make up this funding gap. Many such referendums took place back on April 7. Some passed, some failed.
"Public schools have been the bedrock of Wisconsin since its founding, when state leaders enshrined in our constitution the responsibility to provide every child with a quality education. The growing number of school referendums, however, is a clear signal that the state is falling short of that promise,' said State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly in a press release issued shortly after the election. "Years of chronic underfunding from the state, combined with rising costs, have pushed too many districts into an unsustainable cycle, forcing communities to repeatedly turn to voters just to meet simple, basic needs like keeping schools staffed and the lights on. This is unfair to students, educators, and taxpayers alike, and it is placing an increasing strain on communities across our state. Wisconsin must renew its commitment to investing in our children. That means adequately funding public schools so every district can deliver the high-quality education students deserve, without being forced to rely on repeated referendums to survive."
It was said by some on social media that many "no" votes were simply the result of a desire to let the new school board members (and pretty much every member at this point has only been on the Board for less than a year other than Heinrich) basically have the opportunity to look over and shape the budget for the next school year - the process of which is already underway - and then see if there's a need for another referendum.
"The new Board will be brought up to speed and will make decisions about what direction they want to go, although there is not much left to cut and with only an ask of $375k a year for two years, there is not much we can do with that other than pay our people and pay our bills. On a $10 million budget, if costs go up three percent, that is $300k right there," Pecha said. "We would have another chance to go in November so we will try again. I think knowing that, some people said "no" this time around. I feel confident that it will pass in the fall, especially if people are happy with the Board."
Speaking of which, the Board, at its last monthly meeting on March 25 in the Bethke Auditorium, approved unanimously an out-of-state trip for the Art Club, early college credit program requests, approved the E4E Plan the 2026-27 CESA 10 Contract and the 2026-27 Cluster A Contract while tabling a proposed dog park at Memorial Park. That will be on the agenda for the next full board meeting on April 20 in the auditorium beginning at 6 p.m. This will be the final meeting of the 2023-26 term. A reorganization meeting of the Board will take place on April 28 followed by a Board policy meeting on the 29th and then a Board workshop on May 6.
