Planning for Our Future

An ongoing operational referendum is necessary for the reasons below. In this video, Board President Flanagan, Board Vice President LeBrun, and Dr. Leslie Bergstrom discuss the reason for an operational referendum.

1. Lack of state funding - there has been a 0% increase in ongoing per pupil funding authorization by the State of Wisconsin for two consecutive years in conjunction with significant increases in inflation.

2. An increasingly competitive market - to remain a "destination district" - maintain our ability to retain and attract the best educators and staff in an increasingly competitive job market - we must offer competitive salaries.

3. More local control - a referendum allows our community to take into our own hands the funding of our schools through local tax collections. Our School Board has the authority to reduce the amount taxed when the State of Wisconsin returns to fully funding public education.

4. One-time funds do not sustain ongoing operations - Staffing and benefits comprise 80% of our operating budget ($49M). While we appreciate one-time money, it does not cover our ongoing budget needs.

Because salaries and benefits are annual ongoing costs for school districts. The operational referendum gives the School Board the authority to levy up to the specified amount ($11.4M in year 3 and beyond); however, the Board can reduce the tax amount should the State of Wisconsin return to providing additional ongoing funds, and has publicly committed to doing so.  

Due to lack of state funding, our teachers and staff have received a $0 increase in base pay over the last two years. 

The funds from the referendum will allow us to keep the best educators in our classrooms and in our District. They will be allocated to adjust educator pay based on inflation and competitive market salaries for OSD educators, such as: teachers, paraprofessionals, school counselors, librarians, social workers, school psychologists, administrative assistants, custodians, principals, administrators, district support staff, nurses, food service staff, coaches, club advisors.

The referendum will also allow OSD to keep the mental health support positions and services that were added with one-time federal funds and increase base pay for our bus contractors.

On August 22, after months of discussion, financial & budget analysis, and engaging with our community, the Oregon School Board unanimously voted to approve a $11.4 million recurring operational referendum to be on the November 2022 ballot.  Watch this detailed presentation for more information.

Below is the question that will be on your November 8th ballot.  Make sure to TURN YOUR BALLOT OVER - the question will be on the back.

The Oregon School Board can reduce the amount taxed should the State of Wisconsin return to providing additional ongoing funds.

The chart below shows the additional tax increase each year, over three years. The amount is $11.4M in Year 3. It is a recurring referendum; the amount stays at $11.4M each year thereafter. The Oregon School Board can reduce the tax amount should the State of Wisconsin return to providing additional ongoing funds.

The Oregon School Board can reduce the tax amount should the State of Wisconsin return to providing additional ongoing funds.

We would need to consider reductions in staffing and cuts to programs, co-curriculars and services. These would result in increased class sizes for our students and reduced program offerings in our schools. In addition, if the referendums pass in our neighboring school districts, we will be at a further competitive disadvantage for retaining and attracting staff.

There are a total of 40 operating referenda on the ballot in Wisconsin this November. 

Eight of the 16 school districts in Dane Couney have an operational referendum on the November 8, 2022 ballot:

Election Day
Tuesday, November 8, 2022

My Vote Wisconsin
To determine your voter status, register to vote, request an absentee ballot, find your polling location, and view sample ballots, please visit My Vote Wisconsin.

Absentee and Early Voting
Early voting begins on September 23. There are different deadlines to request an absentee ballot or vote in-person depending on where you live or if you are in the military, overseas, indefinitely confined, or in the hospital.

An absentee ballot must be returned by mail or delivered to your municipal clerk and must be received no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 8, 2022.

Visit the My Vote Wisconsin Deadline page to learn more.

Voting Locations and Hours
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Visit My Vote Wisconsin My Polling Place page and enter your address to find your voting location.

Yes. We take fiscal responsibility very seriously and have been able to reduce expenses and lessen the referendum tax impact by switching health insurance providers and through restructuring debt. These financial decisions have lessened the impact of the referendum on taxpayers by $2M. As responsible financial stewards, we continually review and analyze our budget.

Districts across the state are doing a variety of things to address this challenge, including: reducing services / staff, increasing class sizes, using one-time funds to pay for ongoing operations, and seeking funds through an operational referendum.

ESSER refers to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, which was designed to help schools with expenses related to the pandemic. OSD was allocated a total of $3,855,354 in one-time ESSER money, which was used for expenses to help our students during the pandemic, including: health & safety expenses (e.g., outdoor classrooms, instrument covers, etc.), contact tracers, one-year mental health student support positions, short-term academic engagement and support teachers, technology (1:1 Chromebooks for online learning), online curriculum subscriptions, and foundational Literacy Skills Training for Teachers (LETRS). This money was allocated and used for one-time expenses rather than for ongoing operations, as intended by the Federal government.

On August 30, Governor Evers announced that the State of WI would allocate one-time money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to K-12 schools. OSD will receive a single distribution of $350,289 in funding for this school year (2022-2023), and $61,054 for the Get Kids Ahead initiative to be used for mental health support. While we appreciate the fund allocations, it is one-time money. Even if these were ongoing funds, the total would be less than 1% of our annual salary and benefits budget.

The State of Wisconsin has seen the largest drop in K-12 public school funding of any state in the nation over the past two decades. In 2002 Wisconsin ranked #11 in the nation with respect to school funding (11% above the national average) and by 2020 had dropped to #25 (6% below the national average). This does not include the last two years of $0 increase in per-student funding, which will likely result in a lower ranking.

In Wisconsin, K-12 public schools are funded by (1) State determined revenue limits that restrict the amount of property taxes and state equalization aid that a district can receive, and (2) categorical funding programs within the state budget; the largest categorical funding program is allocated by the number of students. For OSD that means the state of Wisconsin determines approximately 90% of our operational budget ($55M). Of that $55M, approximately 80% ($49M) are expenses related to staffing.

There have been no per student increases (0%/$0) in funding from the state for operations for the last two years.

An operational referendum asks voters for permission to exceed the state-imposed revenue limit authority for the purpose of increasing revenue to fund school operations. The Board of Education must approve going to referendum, along with the question that would appear on an election ballot for taxpayers to vote on.

Wisconsin Act 16 implemented revenue limits beginning with the 1993-94 school year. A district's revenue limit is the maximum amount of revenue that may be raised through state general aid and property tax.

While the OSD does receive funding from the federal government for specific purposes and grants for programmatic expenses, there are very few allowable options for Wisconsin public schools to generate funds outside of property tax revenue. In addition, funding sources such as grants, donations and programmatic revenues are not typically recurring sources and/or the magnitude of dollars needed to sustain our operational expenses.

The sale of property would be a one-time revenue source that is not sufficient to cover our ongoing annual operational needs. Further, it would create a future issue of higher purchase costs and inavailability of land to accommodate facilities (e.g., additional middle school) over the next 15-20 years.