ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Community School District board heard and approved the final community survey for a potential four-year operating referendum that would be voted on in April.

The survey will be sent to community members in the mail, providing an opportunity to vote either online or by mailing the survey back. The deadline will be Nov. 24 for survey response, where the results will then be compiled and the district can see community thoughts.

Ellsworth, like many other districts in the state, is operating at a deficit and needs to spend fund balance dollars to operate. A 53-student decrease in enrollment plays a part in that deficit, losing the district a significant amount in per pupil funding.

The survey lays out three options for an operational referendum that could be considered. Those include $3 million, $3.5 million or $4 million options with the differences in what the school could offer laid out in the survey. Community members could also vote against any referendum or that they would support one smaller than the options presented.

For example, the $3 million proposal would still lead to the cutting of eight classroom teachers, cutting back of mental health resources, trimming of co-curriculars and the continuing dip in fund balance. The $4 million proposal would still cut back on some training and staff development, but no staff would be laid off.

A survey can be crucial for districts, as it helps determine what the public supports and what can be taken to the ballot box.

The company running the survey has a 94% accuracy rate from survey results to the election result.

During public comment, community member Renee Peterson expressed concern about the referendum.

“I’m concerned about the next operational referendum. The public just passed a capital referendum. I understand the need for the operational, I’m just worried about the public,” Peterson said.

Peterson brought up concerns of the board not having enough involvement in the specific referendum spending items as well as school safety in the new high school addition if the community is welcomed into the space.

The facilities referendum differs from an operational referendum, in that an operational referendum is geared toward covering necessary expenses to keep the school open including salaries.

Annual Meeting

Ahead of the regular board meeting, the board heard a budget presentation as part of the annual meeting.
The certification of the numbers does not come until the conclusion of the month, so some minor tweaks can happen.

Under the proposed 2025-26 budget, the total ending fund balance would decrease from $5,531,336 to $5,103,508. The fund balance decrease would be less than the decrease from 2023-24 to 2024-25.

Total Fund 10 revenues are expected to increase from $23,666,366 to $23,820,332. On the flip side, Fund 10 expenditures are expected to see just a slight increase from $24,252,339 to $24,248,162.

Superintendent Brian Nadeau said some of the numbers including interest on investments may wind up more favorable than budgeted as they try to make conservative estimates rather than overshooting.

The total school levy is slated for $12,209,804, a 4.88% increase from a year ago. The mill rate is expected to decrease from 7.42 in 2025 to 7.21 in 2026. The mill rate spent 2012-19 in the double digits with a peak of 11.56 in 2017. From 2020 on until 2024, the rate steadily decreased before bottoming out at 6.66 in 2024.

Acknowledgements

The board made a series of acknowledgements, starting with the high school’s Day of Service. The event consists of all high school students, with the exception of the juniors who take the practice ACT on that day, spending the day volunteering at about 25 different sites around the area. This year the projects included highway cleanup, helping at Elsie’s Barnyard, Habitat for Humanity work and much more.

The board announced the 2025 WASB Business Honor Roll from Ellsworth, being Cenex, Quinn Motors and the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce.
Finally, the board acknowledged Wisconsin School Board Week.

Other business

• Approved a pool boiler repair. Recently, the pool has struggled to keep temperature. After investigation, they found it was because the current boiler sold to them was not meant for chlorine. It was determined there is little recourse regarding the company that sold the original boiler, but a new one is needed.
• Approved a resolution to allow for short-term borrowing if necessary.

Personnel

The board approved the following personnel changes:

Hires: Anita Peterson, long term substitute teacher.

Extra/Co-Curricular: Kim Meier, middle school yearbook co-advisor; Weston Morley, assistant middle school musical director; Kyle Olson, head eighth grade boys basketball coach.