I am writing to provide you with an update and results from our community survey efforts in relation to the upcoming operational referendum in the spring of 2026. The current operational referendum in the amount of $1.3 million is expiring at the end of this school year and was in effect for a four-year period spanning from 2022-2026. A total of 1,180 community members responded to the survey, equating to a 20.3% response rate, with a margin of error of +/- 2.91%. The average survey response rate for School Perceptions is 18%. Additionally, there were more than double the benchmark of 500 surveys completed, which is the key number that School Perceptions looks for when analyzing survey data.

Why did we survey the operational numbers that we did?

The district utilizes a budget forecasting model that is commonly used by school districts in Wisconsin. This tool incorporates projections for operational costs (such as utilities, staffing, insurances, consumables), capital and maintenance expenditures, and revenues. It is a comprehensive tool that allows districts to model the budget into the future and is necessary because, unlike for-profit organizations, school districts are subject to the state biennial budget and any changes that are signed into law. School districts must plan for future capital and operational costs and needs before state aid and the local levy are finalized. For example, we had staff and students back in full swing this year in late August, however our revenues (including state aid and the local levy) are not able to be finalized until late October. This presents the need for budget forecasting as a standard operating procedure for us.

Our budget forecasting model has indicated, as it has for the vast majority of Wisconsin districts, that the revenue limit authority (i.e. the ability of school districts to levy locally for revenue) is not keeping up with inflation, and has not kept up for the past 30+ years. Coupled with a zero increase in state aid, which has not happened since 2017, and the issues with the school funding formula become magnified.

The district utilized these forecasts to determine a variety of scenarios that we then studied. The school board then approved this survey to gather community feedback, and the amounts that were decided upon were $3, $3.5, and $4 million/year.

What did the results tell us?

The results from the survey have indicated that we need to go back to the drawing board and dig deeper for potential solutions. The community answered the call, and we are listening and doing just that. As always, there are factors outside of our control, such as the new Pierce County Judicial Center, reassessments, and property value increases, that impact the local levy as well.

Upcoming challenges

As declining enrollment continues in the vast majority of the state, it becomes more challenging to staff classrooms, food service teams, custodial crews, bus & van fleets, teaching assistants, and other critical certified staff because the decline in enrollment is spread across the district at various grade levels, not isolated to individual grade levels or buildings, which would be simpler to account for in staffing. While we are fully engaged in “right-sizing” the organization, we simply cannot operate to the level that the community has come to expect in all phases without an operational levy in place.

The Ellsworth Community School District has had an operational referendum in place since 2015, and 22 of the previous 25 years dating back to 2001. The community support over that time has been critical to the advances made in recruiting and retaining staff, instruction, teacher training, the Professional Learning Community model, extracurricular opportunities, not to mention the ability to maintain our excellent K-12 facilities, operate a community-based pool, and stay current in maintenance and future-based planning across the district.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns at nadeaub@ellsworth.k12.wi.us or 715-273-3900.