David Michael Miller
For members of Madison’s school board, the Nov. 8 referendum asking residents for another $26 million is about treading water.
“We have had a number of difficult budgets, and we have been very fiscally responsible, but each time we have to balance those budgets we have to look at big items to cut,” says Mary Burke, board vice president.
James Howard, board president, agrees, saying any more cuts will damage the quality of education.
“Every year we’ve had to make cuts in order to balance the budget,” he says. “We had to eliminate 120 positions over the last two years, and we cannot continue to operate at the same rate because eventually we will see effects in the classroom.”
If approved, the referendum would give the board authority to exceed state-imposed revenue caps by $26 million over four years — $5 million for the first two years and $8 million for the third and fourth years.
The $26 million would go toward sustaining the district’s current operations, funding teacher salaries, classroom materials, technology and building repairs.
Without the money, school officials say they might have to cut 120 more positions over the next two years, which would mean larger classes and delaying the district’s technology implementation plan.
Mike Barry, assistant superintendent for business services for Madison schools, says that if the referendum passes, not all of the extra $26 million would necessarily come from property taxes. Some of it could be raised through state aid, depending on the district’s enrollment and state budgets.
“But we would consider it to be locally approved and locally funded,” says Barry, who estimates that over four years, property taxes on an average single-family home in Madison would be $144 higher, equaling out to about $3 per month, per household.
The Madison school district isn’t alone in resorting to referendums for more funding. “This is a function of what the state has done with education funding,” Burke says. “So you are seeing historically high levels of the number of school districts going to referendum and also historic highs of the percent that are passing.”
If it doesn’t pass, Barry explains that the budget for the next two years will look a lot like the budgets of the past years.
“It’s a pattern we’re trying to break, a pattern that had us making $18 million in budget cuts over the last two years,” says Barry. “The schools are being underfunded, they are being asked to do difficult work and do it well on absolutely minimum revenue growth.”
Even though the financial outlook is bleak, officials insist that the schools are still making improvements. Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham says students are performing better and the racial achievement gap is narrowing.
“We want to keep our momentum going,” she says. “But without the financial stability this referendum would provide, we think that will be increasingly difficult to do.”
The district will hold a final information session on the referendum Oct. 27 at Memorial High School at 6:30 p.m.
