Name: Near-Record Year for School Referendums
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Near-Record Year for School Referendums

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Spring election’s voters pass more than 80% of local school funding referendums.//end headline wrapper ?&gt;Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban MilwaukeeMilwaukee Public Schools Office of School Administration, 5225 W. Vliet St. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools.Preliminary numbers from last week’s election show Wisconsin voters approved school district funding requests in near-record numbers.School districts don’t have to submit their final results to the state until April 23. But most have already gotten their referendum results, which were overwhelmingly in favor of upping districts’&nbsp;ability to raise taxes —&nbsp;more than 80 percent passed, approving more than $1.7 billion in total.Voters&nbsp;&nbsp;‘&nbsp;first referendum in more than two decades, for $87 million in funding over three years, by a 76-percent margin.To the south, the Racine Unified School District&nbsp;&nbsp;—&nbsp;only five more votes in favor than against, out of more than 33,000 ballots cast.“It’s a big number, and I think it gave some people sticker shock,” said Racine School Board President . “Our reaction is&nbsp;a win is a win, and we’re looking forward now to be able to go implement the plan.”, an analyst at the nonpartisan , said close margins aren’t unusual for school referendums, particularly in smaller school districts, but a five-vote margin is unusual for Racine USD. Its next-closest vote, in 1999, passed with a 69-vote margin.O’Connell said the school board’s hope with such a large funding request over such a long time was to lock in funding for all its capital improvements early, so it wouldn’t have to return to voters again, “barring disaster,” to fund any new construction over that 30-year period.“There is this cycle now, of school districts having small projects, doing a referendum, and then immediately needing another referendum,”&nbsp;he said. “We’re hoping to avoid that.”Racine’s referendum made up the bulk of the more than $1.7 billion approved in Tuesday’s election. In total though,&nbsp;, and mostly got the results they were hoping for.This year trailed record-setting 2018 in total funding approved — voters OK’d $2.2 billion that year —&nbsp;but beat out the $783 million in referendums passed last year.That goes against the norm for times of economic hardship. In the years following the 2001 and 2008 recessions, there were dips in the rate of approval for school funding referendums, though they bounced back after a couple of years as the economy started to recover.A more than 80 percent approval rate this year would seem to buck that trend, though Chapman&nbsp;notes that the current coronavirus-caused downturn is an unusual one.“On the one hand, people are feeling the effects of the recession and may be less likely to want to approve a hike in their taxes,”&nbsp;she said. “On the other hand, their kids are home from school, and they’re having a visceral understanding of the importance of education in a way that they’ve never had before, and so they might be more inclined to support a school referendum.”Listen to the WPR report .was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.Read more about: , ,You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, . ..If you are an existing member, to leave a comment.Have questions? Need to report an error?755 N. Milwaukee St.Milwaukee, WI 53202414-395-0632© 2022, Urban Milwaukee, Inc. All rights reserved.This ad will close automatically in 15 seconds.Tired of seeing banner ads on Urban Milwaukee? .

Spring election’s voters pass more than 80% of local school funding referendums.//end headline wrapper ?&gt;Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban MilwaukeeMilwaukee Public Schools Office of School Administration, 5225 W. Vliet St. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools.Preliminary numbers from last week’s election show Wisconsin voters approved school district funding requests in near-record numbers.School districts don’t have to submit their final results to the state until April 23. But most have already gotten their referendum results, which were overwhelmingly in favor of...

Near-Record Year for School Referendums

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