APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Appleton Area School District faces a $13 million budget deficit and is asking community members how they think the funding gap should be addressed.
Hear from people who attended Thursday's meeting in the video below:
NBC 26 attended a listening session at the district's Welcome Center to hear how residents believe the deficit should be handled. The district says the funding shortfall comes from high inflation and reduced state and federal funding, making it difficult to pay for expenses like employee healthcare.
"Like every employer, we can't afford 10 to 15% increases," said Greg Hartjes, Appleton Area Schools superintendent. "When our revenue goes up by two to three percent in a year, we just really struggle."
The district has three main options: cutting staff, closing schools, or asking taxpayers to approve additional funding through a referendum.
"Are there cuts that we can make, are there concessions that we can make instead of always coming to the taxpayer and hitting us with more and more increases," said Bill Recker, a meeting attendee.
If the district decides to go to voters in April, they could propose three different referendum amounts. A $15 million per year referendum would add support staff and transportation programs. A $13 million per year referendum would restore staffing that has been eliminated. An $11 million per year referendum would increase the amount of funding per student, but still require the district to make $2 million in cuts.
"A referendum's a necessary evil, but I want them to think about other ways to raise money," said Tim Schnese, an Appleton resident, after the meeting Thursday.
Without a referendum, the district will have to consider cutting programs like music and 4K.
Now, the district is not filling open positions that don't directly interact with students. They have already combined two elementary schools and moved a charter school to cut costs.
A survey about the possible referendum will be sent to all households in the district. The district plans to host another listening session Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Welcome Center on North Oneida Street.
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