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Updated April 9, 2019
The School District of New Berlin's operational referendum was rejected by voters April 2.
No: 6,196 | 52.7 percent
Yes: 5,572 | 47.3 percent
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The School District of New Berlin is committed to providing the best possible education for all students.
The SDNB is considered a leader in both the state and nation in our college, career, and life-readiness efforts and our academic and career planning initiatives. Our middle / high schools are among the best and most challenging in Wisconsin, our elementary and secondary schools have been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Committee, and our district “significantly exceeds” expectations on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s annual accountability report card.
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On the April 2 ballot, the School District of New Berlin’s Board of Education will ask residents if they favor increasing the revenue limit by $5 million in each of the next five years.
The additional taxpayer funds would allow the SDNB to:
- Erase structural deficits by paying down debt within the operating budget;
- remain proactive in terms of funding long-range plans, which includes facilities and equipment replacement, safety, technology infrastructure and support, and curriculum and instructional resources;
- continue to pay employees fair and competitive wages to attract and retain high-quality staff.
The specific question voters will see on the April 2 ballot is:
"Shall the School District of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $5 million per year for the 2019-20 school year through the 2023-24 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational expenses, including paying debt within the operating budget; funding long-range plans for facilities, equipment, safety, technology infrastructure, and curriculum and instruction; and fair and competitive staff compensation?"
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The District has successfully avoided operational referendums by managing structural deficits for the past seven years. The District is facing its largest deficit yet - $2.3 million – for the 2019-20 fiscal year and the District believes it has no way to address it, or future deficits, without significantly disrupting or impacting the current educational structure.
The District still has 10 years of $3 million to $4.3 million of debt within the operating budget. To balance recent budgets, the District stopped setting aside funds for many of its long-range plans and now has minimal funds for contingencies or acute issues and minimal funds for equipment and furniture replacement. The District is now addressing maintenance issues reactively (and more expensively) than proactively.
To balance recent budgets, the District also significantly reduced its teaching and learning budget, which, if left unaddressed, will result in outdated core curriculum and student/teacher resources. The District, after providing staff with a 1 percent raise for the 2018-19 school year, is struggling to pay teaching staff fair and competitive wages.
The District also is expecting cost increases for school safety, tech infrastructure and security, and student transportation.
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Largely the result of debt payments for Ronald Reagan and New Berlin West within the operating budget, the SDNB is facing structural deficits that, if left unaddressed, could adversely affect the community's high expectations for our schools. The District believes the deficits are reaching levels that, unlike past years, cannot be absorbed within current revenue limits.
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If approved by voters, the estimated tax impact for the $5 million revenue cap increase on a $250,000 home over the next five years is represented in the chart below.
Estimates are based off of estimated mill rates, compared to the 2018-19 levels, and assumes 3 percent property growth in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and 2.5 percent property growth the remaining three years. Projections are also based on historical data and reasonable expectations for future changes in revenues and expenditures.
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If the community does not support the referendum, the Board of Education and administration will continue to make budget cuts and adjustments and spend its limited fund balance - or savings account - in order to balance the 2019-20 and future budgets.
Maintenance and long-range planning would continue to be deferred. Retaining and attracting the highest quality staff by paying competitive wages would become even more difficult. Funding of planned technology, equipment and safety upgrades, as well as curriculum and instruction resources, would be put on, or remain on hold. Additional staff reductions, causing increased class sizes and the elimination of some programs and services, would be be considered.
The Board would also need to consider reductions through consolidation of schools. A scenario that has been discussed would result in New Berlin West becoming the district's lone high school and Eisenhower becoming its lone middle school. All sixth-grade students would eventually be moved into middle school, and Orchard Lane Elementary would close. This restructuring would also require redistricting for our elementary families.
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If you have questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions link in the right sidebar or email referendum2019@nbexcellence.org.
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