Fact Sheet

For the Madison School District Referendum - June 3, 2003

The school district is asking to exceed the revenue limit specified by state law by an amount of "up to $12.3 million" for only the 2003-04 school year.
However, since the referendum question was finalized on April 7, the 2003-05 contract with the teachers, which included health insurance changes, has been tentatively settled. As a result the amount of funding needed will be at most $9.3 million. So while the wording on the June 3 ballot states "up to $12.3 million," the district is committing to raising the revenue cap by no more than $9.3 million.
The exact amount needed by the district is still uncertain because it is unknown what the impact of the 2003-05 state budget will be on school aids to districts.
What is known is that the state revenue cap portion of the school finance formula remains in effect for next year. The cap is forcing Madison Schools to annually make reductions to its "same service" budget, that is, a budget that provides no increase in services.
The cuts for next year, depending on the unknown above, will be between $6.3 and $12.3 million. However, the district has committed to cutting $3.0 million, thus the referendum commitment amount of $9.3 million ($12.3 - $3.0 = $9.3)
Since revenue caps began in 1993, Madison Schools have cut almost $25 million and have eliminated nearly 250 full-time positions from its same service budgets.
An additional $9.6 million cut for next year caused the Board of Education to schedule the referendum so that the community will have the opportunity to decide the district's future course.

So it's the community's choice right now, "a fork in the road" so to speak.

Some traits of a quality school district:	If the $9.3 million cut occurs:
Highly trained, skilled teachers	Reduction of summer training opportunities
Small class sizes	Larger class sizes in middle and high schools
Strong services that support students, especially those in greatest need	8 fewer full-time social workers and psychologists
Wide variety of middle and high school course offerings	Less variation in non-core courses
Strong instructional program for students with disabilities (Special Education)	Fewer Special Education teachers at all levels
Clean, safe school environments	Reduction of building custodians; moratorium on $650,000 in building improvements
High quality and current educational learning materials	Moratorium on purchase of a major portion (60%) of new educational learning materials
Comprehensive athletics and other extra-curricular activities	30% reduction in District resources, which means less funding and increased fees

If the referendum passes and the district uses the $9.3 million, the cost to the owner of an average city home, valued at $190,000, would be $189 for next year only.
The referendum is for only one year because the entire school aid formula might change in the coming year. The Governor has committed to revising the formula for the 2004-05 school year.

Madison School District Referendum - June 3, 2003