Dear Editor,
"I am writing to explain the facts and potential costs of the proposed referendum from the Dodgeville School District that will be on the April ballot this year. The new referendum will cost Dodgeville taxpayers $2.5 million per year, resulting in a total of $7.5 million over three years. Each property tax will increase $245 per $100,000 of home value. There are roughly 838 households in the city of Dodgeville with incomes below $59,999.00. How will they be able to pay this additional tax?
In addition to the cost imposed on Dodgeville taxpayers, enrollment has been declining in our schools. From 2022 to 2025, the Dodgeville School District lost 33 students, which caused a reduction in state aid of $415,800. A large number of students have also been transferring out of the district. Approximately 130 students transfer to different schools annually, losing about $1,638,000 of state aid. Future enrollment is expected to decline every school year through 2027-2028 by an additional 40 students, not including students who are transferring out of the district. The cost per student in 2024 was also astronomical, at $16,451.
Fewer requirements for more instructors and administrators could aid in solving this problem, and it would be far less costly than increasing property taxes via referendum. The school receives $13,092,750.00 of state aid, which is approximately 73.6% of their budget. The effects of the referendum on future budgets are unknown. The majority of the information was obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Instruction.
Despite all of this spending on education, outcomes have not improved in the Dodgeville School District. Overall proficiency has recently increased. However, this is only because DPI lowered the standards during the pandemic to inflate scores, skewing proficiency improvements and school ratings. In 2023, Governor Evers also used his partial veto, which extends $325 per student funding for the next 400 years at a cost of $57 billion over the next 20 years.
The City of Dodgeville will have to consider increasing its mill rate to cover the costs of remodeling the Armory Building for city hall and remodeling city hall for the library. Call city hall with your concern’s Dan Curran Dodgeville, WI