ELLSWORTH — With the April 7 election drawing closer by the day, Ellsworth Community School District Superintendent Brian Nadeau welcomed residents to the high school auditorium to present the facts of the $2.185 million non-recurring operational referendum and answer their questions Feb. 25.

If approved, the referendum would take effect in the 2026-27 school year and end after the 2029-30 school year.

The district referendum proposal is a non-recurring operational referendum, meaning its course would be complete after the 2029-30 school year, where recurring referendums, like those at Elmwood, Prescott and River Falls, to name a few, recur year after year. Operational referendums focus on keeping the school functional and retaining its programs and services.

“Not shiny new buildings. Not those types of projects, but the operating of the district on a day-to-day basis. Transportation, technology and then maintenance of our existing facilities,” Nadeau said.

Ellsworth has a $1.3 million operational referendum that expires at the end of the 2025-26 school year. District leaders explored the options, ultimately sending out a survey to gauge community support on varying referendum sizes. Weighted support, a measurement that adjusts for parent, community and staff member submission ratios expected on Election Day, had a $4 million per year at 20.3%, $3.5 million at 27.3%, $3 million at 31.8% and less than $3 million at 42.75%.

In order to avoid sweeping cuts throughout the district, the school board approved taking a $2.185 million referendum to vote that would both acknowledge the public ask for lower than the surveyed totals and lead the district into cuts to avoid a complete elimination of the fund balance. If approved, the net referendum increase would be $885,000. The annual tax impact would be $92 per $100,000 in property value.

The number was decided as it was the estimated total necessary to maintain a fund balance of 10% of the yearly budget in four years. The increased referendum does not offset the rising costs facing the district.

“The mill rate here in Ellsworth has been historically low. Thirty of the last forty years roughly, 75%, has been below the state average,” Nadeau said. “With our current operational referendum in place, the $1.3 million, we are still in the lower half of [revenue per student].”

Nadeau presented three phases of district budget reductions that were drafted as a reaction, totaling $1,920,750.

“We’re no longer cutting fat from the budget. We’re cutting meat. We’re cutting things that hurt. They impact kids, they impact staff, they impact families.” Nadeau said. “When the community spoke on the survey numbers, we listened, and we took those responses very seriously, and this is the result of that.”

The first two phases will be enacted regardless of the result of the referendum, with the final phase being referendum dependent. The first phase, totaling $731,350 in estimated savings, includes a reduction of five full-time equivalent (FTE) elementary teaching/specialty staff, one district administration FTE, 1.7 district wide support staff FTE, 1.5 elementary support staff FTE and removal of district funding for ETS Performance, an athletic performance training program for Ellsworth student-athletes. Phase two totals $517,700 in estimated savings, covering a delayed school bus purchase, removal of one MS/HS teacher/specialist staff FTE, elimination of 4K mid-day bussing, loss of one FTE of high school support staff, a 10% reduction in classroom budgets, no replacement of outdated Chromebooks (laptops), elimination of two bus routes, reduction of one FTE of food service support staff, a 10% athletic budget reduction, a freeze on extra-curricular payments and increased fees.

Phase three, which is dependent on the referendum vote, totals $671,700. The proposed cuts are 5.5 FTE of MS/HS teachers/specialist staff, one FTE for a custodian, elimination and freezing of some extra-curricular contracts, reduction in classroom budgets by an additional 10%, increased fees, reductions in training and travel and reduction/elimination of field trips.

“We started looking at what can we put out that is responsive to that, and that we can move forward and operate, and continue to maintain most of the programs that we currently have,” Nadeau said. “Through that process, the district, the board, myself, the administrative leadership team, looked at different cost-saving measures and then came up with a proposal.”

According to the presentation, 294 of 421 Wisconsin districts have gone to operational referendums since 2015. Between a state funding model that has been criticized by many districts’ administrators and declining enrollment taking its toll on that funding, districts have frequently gone to their communities to ask for further support. Ellsworth’s expected declining enrollment hit is $826,000 for a decrease of 44 students in the population next year. They expect to lose about 50 more the following year before leveling off. Nadeau said if there were any way for districts to avoid coming back to taxpayers for referendums, he would take it.

To learn more about the referendum, visit https://www.ellsworth.k12.wi.us/page/2026-operational-referendum