Campaign winds down for Bonduel schools

With one week to go, Bonduel School District supporters are working hard to promote a referendum aimed at rescuing the district from a painful budget crunch.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday for a referendum on whether to authorize a property tax increase of $900,000 annually for the next three years to fund operational costs in the schools.

District officials and boosters are cautioning that if the referendum fails, the public school system faces deep spending cuts in personnel and programs.

At a public informational meeting Tuesday to help voters prepare for the referendum, District Administrator Patrick Rau said the resulting cuts could result in fewer academic programs, fewer extracurricular activities and perhaps even a school week shortened to four days.

“Everything is on the table,” Rau said.

Parents, teachers and others in the community have been working all summer to encourage support for the measure as a way of offsetting state funding cuts and maintaining quality public schools.

Voters in the school district defeated a similar measure in April by a vote of 708-602.

Participants at Tuesday’s public meeting exhibited lingering uncertainty.

Resident John Boettcher said school administrators should have waited longer after April’s referendum was shot down before going back to the voters. Boettcher said there are still unanswered questions about future state funding for schools and other factors.

“I would’ve given it some time,” he said.

Parents Bob and Rachel Bloedorn, however, said they support the referendum as a way of helping the public schools provide the services that students need immediately. If the measure fails and the district imposes deep cuts, the Bloedorns said, they would consider moving their kids to another district.

“To have a strong community,” Rachel Bloedorn said, “you need strong schools.”

With about 800 students, the Bonduel district operates on an annual budget of $12.4 million, which includes $4.3 million in property taxes. With declining enrollment and dwindling state aid, the district is confronting a budget deficit that is projected to surpass $400,000 next year and then worsen with each passing year.

Voters in April rejected a proposal to boost property taxes by up to $1 million annually for the next three years. When school administrators responded with budget-trimming plans, parents and others spoke out in favor of trying another referendum to stave off the budget axe.

A volunteer group called the Bonduel Area Action Committee has spent weeks educating the public about the school district’s financial condition and urging voters to get behind the referendum. There has been no sign of organized opposition to the measure.

Julie Felhofer, a parent active in the Bonduel Area Action Committee, said she is hopeful that residents throughout the district got the message when the April referendum defeat was followed immediately by the administration’s move toward painful budget cuts.

Felhofer said her group is knocking on doors, circulating yard signs and doing whatever else is needed to promote awareness of the issue.

“People are talking about it,” she said. “So hopefully the right information is getting out there.”

About 15 people attended Tuesday’s public meeting inside the high school, which was the second such gathering for community members.

Rau told the crowd that if the referendum passes, he would be able to restore three teaching positions at the elementary school, plus a teaching position at the high school level. If the referendum fails, he said, those cuts would remain in effect and more would likely follow.

As a public employee, Rau said, he must remain neutral and not engage in campaigning for or against the referendum. He assured those in attendance, however, that school officials have been good stewards of the public’s money.

“We use it wisely,” he said, “and try to get the most bang for each buck we spend.”