Suring School District again seeks voter approval to exceed revenue caps

Green Bay Press-Gazette

SURING – For a second time, voters in the Suring School District will decide April 7 whether to authorize tax collections above the revenue cap set by the state.

Five years ago, residents approved a referendum allowing the district to raise an additional $700,000 a year for five years.

With that authorization ending, Suring is now seeking $900,000 in each of the next five years, a total of $4.5 million to continue to pay for a wide variety of educational and maintenance needs that couldn’t otherwise be funded.

“We’re not doing anything else than any other school district is doing,” said Superintendent Kelly Casper. “Until the legislature does something about the funding formula … like any other school district, we’ve got projects that need to be done.”

Around the state, 22 districts have similar non-recurring referendums on the ballot this year, according to the Department of Public Instruction. Last year, there were 26 such referendums, and 22 of them were approved.

Some of money would be spent on maintaining current programs and extracurricular activities, with the district noting numerous steps have been taken to trim expenses by becoming more energy efficient and reduce staffing costs.

In the first referendum, about two-thirds of the money collected was used to maintain programs. It currently represents about 16 percent of all taxes collected.

About half of the new funding would be used that way, which is still a similar dollar amount, said Suring School Board President Wayne Sleeter.

The plan also calls for a few large purchases: a generator for the school, so the building can serve as a gathering place for residents during an emergency — such as the village-wide power outage last year — a wheelchair accessible van to meet ADA requirements, and new playground equipment.

One particular need is the addition of a school social worker.

At school of 400 students, one principal and one guidance counselor is simply not enough to keep up with the community's social needs, Principal Pam Berg said.

More students are exhibiting behaviors that show they are struggling and require intervention, which Berg said takes an increasing amount her’s and the counselor’s time. The number of students of feeling anxious or depressed and wanting help coping with these emotions is also rising, she said.

“Social workers make community connections and help bridge the gap between student and family needs as they navigate waters alongside the families,” Berg said.

The position would also help coordinate efforts to help needy and homeless families. The school’s Nurse's Nook and two school student organizations operate a clothes closet and pack weekend food bags for roughly 40 families, Berg said.

“Each November … we have more families requesting assistance with providing winter clothing for their children,” Berg said. “The school is doing its best to provide these items, but our staff is often overwhelmed in the process.”

Another major part of the plan is updating equipment and furnishings in the science lab and technology education classrooms.

“We want to maintain services and retain teaching staff, but also improve learning opportunities in (technical) areas like welding, electricity, plumbing and plasma cutting for students who aren’t looking to go to college,” Sleeter said. “We want to help those kids get skills and there are local businesses looking for those skills.”

Casper also said the district need to address the aging facilities at Suring, including:

replacing flooring throughout the building;
renovating restrooms and locker rooms;
updating HVAC and digital controls;
refinishing the gym floor and track;
replacing outdated computer devices;
installing new interactive boards in classrooms;
updating the PA system and clocks.

“We’re trying to project costs, and we’re hoping that it doesn’t go up,” Casper said.

An additional $900,000 on the tax levy is would require an increase of 53 cents per $1,000 valuation.

But because the 2015-2020 referendum is expiring, taxpayers would be paying roughly what they are paying now if the new referendum is improved, Casper said.

Property values do impact the rate, however, and it's not known known if they rise neaxt year as they have the past four years, especially after the storm last year, she added.

Suring’s tax rate is currently $6.92, which is just 5 cents higher than the year before the first increase in the revenue limit became effective.

The impact on a $75,000 property would be $39.75 per year, and $79.50 on a property valued at $150,000.

The district notes Suring has the third-lowest rate of 10 nearby districts.

Part of the reason for that is because Suring is a “land rich” district, as the value of property within its borders is much higher than average. That results in Suring getting little state aid. For 2019-20, Suring is only receiving $134,000 in state aid, which is 3% of its revenue cap.

The district can point to state school report cards as an indication that the extra money was well used in the past five years. In 2014-15, the Department of Public Instruction found Suring met few expectations, but for 2018-19, Suring was listed as exceeding expectations, especially in the area of closing achievement gaps in English and math.

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Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com.