Questions and Answers About the School Referendum Questions

Question #1

Authorize the district to keep $20 million over the next five years from reduced debt payments and apply the money towards serious facility needs.

1. What does "facility needs" mean?: Facility needs refers to heating, electrical, plumbing, roof repair, air handling and similar large-scale operations required for efficient and safe operation of a building.
2. What is the Board doing now to address this issue?: Several years ago the Board of Education promised taxpayers that it would increase the facilities maintenance budget by $500,000 a year for five years. The Board kept its promise. The annual budget for maintenance is currently at $3.1 million and the Board will add another $500,000 in June of 2000, fulfilling its vow to the community. Since 1996, $7.6 million in major project work has been completed.
3. Why is there a need to increase the budget for systems replacement?: Almost one-fourth of Madison's schools were built before WWII, and 70% of the district's buildings are over 30 years old. Much like our homes, after 30 years, roofs, heating systems and plumbing need replacing. In older schools, such as Randall Elementary, built at the turn of the century, there are parts in machinery that are no longer made, making replacement impossible.
4. How much will approval of this question cost taxpayers?: Voter approval will not increase taxes. The district's debt payments are decreasing over the next five years as we continue to pay off long-term debt. An average of $4 million per year can be levied to pay for the replacement of old building systems without increasing the tax levy. The referendum question specifically requires that the money be used exclusively for replacing critical facility needs.
5. Does approval of this question raise the revenue cap?: No, it simply allows the district to use the money from reduced debt service and target it exclusively for replacing critical facility needs.
6. What are some examples of work that will be done in our schools if voters approve the referendum question?: Examples of facility needs include:

Question # 2

Authorize the district to obtain $11 million to build and equip a new elementary school in the Cross Country neighborhood on the district's southwest side.

1. If the Madison school district is in a period of declining enrollment, why do we need a new school?: With intense development of homes on the city's southwest side, called the Cross Country neighborhood, there will be about 600 elementary school students in that neighborhood within four or five years, causing overcrowding in area schools. Already, Huegel Elementary (near the Cross Country area) is at capacity.
2. Is the Board of Education considering closing schools?: Not at this time, however, the Board's Long Range Planning committee is examining what criteria need to be established to trigger serious discussions about closing schools. The committee has asked the administration for a plan to deal with declining enrollment. The plan will establish criteria for school consolidations/closings, if that becomes necessary or desirable.
3. Why not just redraw school attendance boundaries in the high growth Cross Country area?: While on the surface redrawing boundaries seems to be an appealing option, scrutiny reveals that this is a simple solution to a difficult problem. Without a new school in the Cross Country neighborhood, 2,278 children attending 19 different schools would have to change elementary schools in the optimal boundary redistricting scenario presented to the Board. The community has long valued having schools close to where children live.
4. Why isn't a school being built in the Allied Drive neighborhood?: Earlier this year, district staff met with officials and attorneys from the U.S. Office of Civil Rights to discuss the prospects of building a school in the Allied Drive area. A series of cases decided in federal court makes building a school in the Allied Drive difficult because the minority population exceeds 80 percent, far surpassing federal integration standards established in case law.
5. How much will a school in the Cross Country neighborhood cost?: The new school would cost the average homeowner (house valued at $140,000 is the average cost of a home in Madison) approximately $16.60 per year for 20 years. If the referendum question is approved by the voters, the school would open for the 2001-02 school year

Question #3

Authorize $340,000 per year for operating costs associated with the new elementary school in Question #2.

1. What is meant by "operating costs?": Operating costs include the building's staff (principal, librarian, custodial and clerical personnel) and utilities.
2. What will the cost be to taxpayers if the question is approved?: The question asks for the authorization of $340,000 annually. However, due to how the state school aid formula works, the actual cost to taxpayers would be $534,000. Wisconsin's school aid formula is based on property value. Madison's property value far exceeds the state average, thus Madison's schools receive less on average than most communities in Wisconsin.
3. What will happen if voters reject the operating costs question?: It clearly comes down to the choice of the voters: fund the new school's operations by raising the revenue cap, or require the district to cut other programs and/or services.

Madison Schools Referendum - November 9, 1999