Council hears presentation on Dodgeville School District update and other agenda items

By John Dalton

The Dodgeville Common Council Regular Meeting was held Tuesday night and Dodgeville High School District Administrator and Principal Ryan Bohnsack presented to the Council the need to support an operational referendum when voters go to the polls on November 5th.

This was the first of six Community Information Sessions the School District is presenting to the community to keep them informed and to answer any questions about the upcoming referendum. 

Those sessions will be on Tuesday, September 24th, and Tuesday, October 1st, at 6:30 p.m. at the DHS Auditorium.  On Monday, October 7th at the Iowa County Health and Human Services Building starting at 6:30 p.m.  On Tuesday, October 8th at Noon at Dodger Bowl, and on Tuesday, October 8th at 6:00 p.m. at the Ridgeway Community Center.  

He noted like many schools in 2024, 19 of the 31 districts will be pursuing referendums.  Within a 5-year timeframe of this year, it will be 29 of 31 schools.  The District is asking voters to vote yes on a 2.99 million dollar non-recurring operational referendum for four years.  The reasons are because of declining enrollment due to lower birth rates and students choosing other schools through School Choice programs, rising costs and inflation, and lack of state funding. Over the past six years, the district has seen a decrease of 204 students.  State aid is based on student population....

(See the rest of this story in the September 19, 2024 Chronicle issue)