PRESCOTT – The Prescott School Board annual meeting Sept. 24 provided updates on referendum work, a presentation on the proposed 2025-26 budget and talk about possibly consolidating school …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in, using the login form, below, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
PRESCOTT – The Prescott School Board annual meeting Sept. 24 provided updates on referendum work, a presentation on the proposed 2025-26 budget and talk about possibly consolidating school buildings in the face of declining enrollment.
Superintendent Jim Reif began by giving electors an update on referendum work being completed at each of the district buildings.
Malone Elementary: In 2024-25, an HVAC unit was installed in the vestibule and faucets and shutoff valves were replaced in eight classrooms. Near future needs include replacing two outside doors that are starting to rust, replacing flooring in five classrooms, and replacing the roof on the gym and the 1988 classroom wing ($400,000+) sometime between 2029-2034.
Intermediate School: Gym ceiling and fans were installed in 2024-25 and restroom exhaust fans were replaced. Future needs will include replacing the roof sometime in 2026-2031 ($550,000) and sanding and painting the gym ($25,000+).
Middle School: In 2024-25, restroom partitions were replaced in five restrooms; the kitchen grease trap and steam drain line were replaced (this required concrete floor demo, plumbing and tile replacement); the main line of the chiller piping unit was replaced; the gym divider curtain was replaced with a power curtain; and the gym bleachers will be replaced this month, with the old wood going to the high school woods shop. Future needs will include sealcoating the parking lot in 2028.
After the new bleachers are installed, about $620,000 remains from the referendum dollars in Fund 49, Reif said. Bills are still being settled.
High School: No referendum projects took place at the high school, since it was built in 2016. Future needs will include replacing four water heaters in 2026-2029 and sealcoating the parking lot in 2028. Upgrading weight room equipment is ongoing through Fund 21.
As part of the facility update, Reif said the district is conducting a school consolidation study as a result of declining enrollment, which is a problem all across Wisconsin. Enrollment has declined across the state by 6.1% over the past four years.
Prescott’s enrollment numbers historically are: 1,349 (2021), 1,305 (2022), 1,310 (2023), 1,254 (2024) and 1,156 (unofficial 2025).
“That is not exactly the same as children in seats because we include summer school in that, we include partial open enrollment; 4K kids only count .6 of a kid,” Reif said. “These are the numbers that count for our enrollment as far as the DPI (Department of Public Instruction) is concerned.”
Throughout September and October, Reif has been collecting information from the administrative team; the district office will examine potential savings opportunities of closing one building and consult with the board about public input. In November and December, administration will present plans to the school board and community for consideration. Feedback will be gathered at community workshops and from surveys to staff, parents and the community. The district will complete a cost savings study on the building and calculate remodeling and moving costs. Additional board discussion will take place in January and February.
“The big thing we have to decide as a district is how much savings is worth closing a building and even more importantly than that, what’s the impact on student learning going to be,” Reif said.
Other factors to consider include:
2025-26 budget
The electors approved a preliminary budget for the 2025-26 school year with the understanding that the final numbers will be presented at the Oct. 29 school board meeting. District staff worked with Baird to present a balanced budget to the school board.
With the Third Friday enrollment count in, Prescott will receive $12,654 in state funding per pupil, which is based on a three-year enrollment rolling average, with a total revenue limit of $16,045,272
In 1993, the state set the per pupil spending limits based on the previous year’s expenditures. For example, the Gibraltar School District in far northeastern Door County gets $24,657 per pupil as of last year. Washburn School District received $28,818 last year per pupil. Hudson received $12,673 per pupil and Prescott received $11,399 per student last year.
“We receive only $74 more than the lowest funded district in the state,” Reif said. “If Prescott had the same per pupil revenue as Hudson, it would have $1.6 million more in its budget.” Despite this, however, Prescott is the highest academic performing district in the Middle Border Conference and outperforms Hudson and River Falls on the WI Forward Exam, Reif said.
In 2009, the state decided to decouple aid and revenue limits from inflation, Reif added.
“They used to be tied into inflation,” Reif said. “As inflation went up, our ability to raise funds went up.”
If this hadn’t been done and the funds kept up with inflation, Prescott would have had an additional $4.4 million to spend since 2009.
“It’s led to a lot of cuts in the district, but at the same time we’re still doing a great job educating our students,” Reif said. “But that’s another $4.4 million the district would have to spend and not have to go to taxpayers if we just kept up with inflation.”
Reif explained there is one pot of money for the entire state as far as general aid. When other districts pass referenda (such as Racine and Madison that just passed huge ones), it impacts state aid to all districts.
“For the first time in 20+ years, the state did not add any money to the general aid,” Reif explained at the September school board meeting. “I will note the state has an almost $5 billion surplus sitting down in Madison. And here’s the kicker and board I apologize, I don’t know what to do about it except be transparent, honest with the numbers.”
Last year, Prescott received $8,777,597 in general aid from the state. In 2025-26, that number will decrease to an estimated $7,813,280, an 11% cut totaling $964,317 in state aid. The official number was expected to come in Oct. 15.
Gov. Tony Evers in 2023 gave school districts the ability to collect an extra $325 per student annually for the next 400 years; however, that increase is in spending authority, not necessarily funds from the state. This year the state legislature did not increase state-matching funds, passing $412,000 onto Prescott School District taxpayers.
“When you hear them report $1.4 billion of increased money for students, it’s all coming from local taxpayers around the state,” Reif said. “Additionally, private school vouchers are funded by our taxpayers before any public school district receives any money. It depends upon the number of students in Prescott who live in Prescott who go to private schools and get vouchers. This year in 2025, we will have a voucher hit of $53,679, that will be taken away from Prescott School District to be sent to private schools.
“This is the hand our school district has been dealt, and we’re going to use our hand to educate our students as best as possible,”
The projected mill rate for the 2025-26 budget is $8.15 per $1,000 of property value, an increase from last year’s $7.77 per $1,000. This means a $300,000 home will see a tax increase (school portion) of $114 per year.
The Department of Public Instruction requires districts to calculate their tax levies using actualized property values, while cities and townships use assessed property values.
According to the DPI, “Assessed valuation is property value as determined by the local municipal assessor on Jan. 1 in any given year. Equalized valuation results when the Department of Revenue (DOR) applies an adjustment factor to the assessed value. The adjustment factor incorporates, among other elements, actual property sales in the municipality during the past year and is meant to ensure each type of property has comparable value regardless of local assessment practices.”
This means that each property, by township, will see a different tax impact.
“Things are going to change based upon where your value is (assessed) and where you live. The local assessor sets the value. It varies by municipality and that’s what’s used to calculate your local taxes,” Finance Director Cara Klatt said.
This means that all municipalities in the district (City of Prescott and towns of Oak Grove, Diamond Bluff, Clifton and Trimbelle) will have slightly different mill rates.
Other noteworthy budget items include:
The budget numbers can be broken down like this:
“People are going to look at this and be like, why are we spending more money,” Board President Mike Matzek said. “It’s because the state dropped funding by almost a million dollars that we are now asking the taxpayers locally in the Prescott School District to pick up. It’s not because we increased our spend by almost a million dollars. It’s because the state is taking away almost a million dollars of the money that we had last year.”
The final budget numbers will be presented at the Oct. 29 school board meeting, beginning at 6 p.m.
Lastly, the electors voted to keep school board members’ salaries the same as last year: $2,500 for the board president and $2,200 for vice president, clerk, treasurer and director.
