We need your support

Dear Editor,

We need to support the Dodgeville School District by passing the Operating Referendum on April 7. Vote YES! We have an excellent school system that we as a community need to support. The referendum asks for 2.5 million dollars for each of the next three years. The referendum funds will be used for:

1. Staff – retention, recruitment, development & programming.

2. Fund Balance – finances for day to day business operations to avoid short-term borrowing.

3. Technology – updates and replacements.

4. Curriculum – updates and renewals.

5. Facilities – maintenance, repairs and replacements.

6. Elementary – exterior and playground safety updates.

7. Classroom Supplies – for day to day classroom use.

Why do we need this operating referendum? In the past year, 100 school districts in the state of Wisconsin have had to go to an operating referendum. The Wisconsin State Legislators need to reform how they support public schools. A lot of money is going to voucher schools. When this happens, the public schools get less money. When legislators are asked what schools should do, they tell them to go to referendum. This way the legislators can really just “pass the buck”. We need to see reform, but this will not be easy or done quickly. In the meantime, what should our public schools do? They have to go to referendum to keep operating. That is why it is called an “operating” referendum. 

Some people have asked about the Charter School that Dodgeville has. The charter school is fully funded through a grant and the restructuring of our internal alternative education program.

We all benefit when we have strong public schools. We must continue to see that they have the monies to keep the quality of education that we are seeing from the Dodgeville Schools.

We recently attended an excellent presentation by District Administrator, Ryan Bohnsack. We wish more people would take the time to research the real need in our school district. If you have questions you can read more at https://dodgevilleschools.org  (click on menu, then referendum). You can also go to the same website under menu then dashboard to find out more about the positive things happening in our schools. 

We are proud that our children, and now grandchildren, attend the Dodgeville Schools. We need to make sure that the children of our community get the educational opportunities that they deserve. It is our obligation as citizens to give the young people of our community the best education we can. Education is everyone’s future. 

Thank you for voting “Yes” on April 7. Support Dodgeville Schools!

Denny & Sue McGraw

Dodgeville, WI