Dear Editor,
Are rent costs too high? Do you have less $ to spend on wants vs needs? Are taxes too high on your home or business so less spendable income? Then you might want to vote NO to the Dodgeville School District referendum on Tuesday, November 3. A ‘yes’ vote means you are adding to high costs and having less $ to spend. And of course if you contribute to higher costs, then you probably shouldn’t complain about the high cost of living.
The Dodgeville School District was gifted Gov Ever’s 400 yr tax. 100 % of this ‘compounded’ tax falls on us local residents, including renters. The District chooses to levy us; not all districts are doing so. The $325 grows annually and this is yr 4 of that law. The Wis Institute for Law calculator shows on a $250,000 home, there will be approximately $274 added to your school tax bill. There is also the annual tax for the $1.3M recurring referendum yrs ago. If this Nov. referendum passes, there will be an additional approximate $462 on your school tax bill. These extra sources of $ are a cost to us but an income to the district, which they seem to dismiss, and WILL ask for more referendums.
The district loses money when students transfer to other districts. There was a net aid loss to Dodgeville schools of over $1M. Some of this loss was preventable! And, Districts can also control their spending. Teachers, students and residents should not be held hostage to emotional scare tactics! A recent editorial by a board member wrote a scenario about the district closing due to a failed referendum. Budgeting, accounting practices, strong academics, tough decisions, common sense, do not change with time. Fiscal woes do not happen over night. How about applying some of these time tested methods. Address the outflow of students going to other districts, direct funds to teaching so students and teachers transfer in, reign in contracted services/programs, minimize ‘social’ programs, and use the ‘extra’ annual tax dollars wisely.
Oh, and IF you care about teacher salaries, money in the classroom, and student achievement without bankrupting your family nor the state, then vote Tom Tiffany for Governor. He knows and recognizes the importance of accounting, finances, student achievement, common sense.
Nancy Mueller,
Dodgeville, WI