Madison School Board Continues Fall 2020 referendum tax and spending increase plans
Board members acknowledged the tough financial reality facing residents, but several members said the need to renovate aging school buildings and shore up the operating budget remains the same.
“These are not things I think we should be putting off,” board member Ali Muldrow said during an online Operations Work Group meeting. “We are talking about the integrity of our district.”
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Board President Gloria Reyes, though, said while she supports the referendums, the board needs to be “cautious,” given how many people have lost their jobs or are on unsure financial ground.
The School Board sought in March to finalize the referendum questions, but the vote was scrapped as the public health situation worsened.
The majority of the $317 million facilities referendum — $280 million — would go toward renovating, repairing and adding onto the district’s four main high schools, each getting $70 million.
Notes, links and commentary on Madison’s planned 2020 tax and spending increase referendum plans.
Cieslewicz gets the resentment felt by the Safer at Home protesters.
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is estimated to be 27% due to closures and social distancing orders aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.
National GDP dropped 4.8% in the first quarter, which only caught the first weeks of the national shutdown.
“One in three Wisconsin small businesses may never reopentheir doors,” Cieslewicz writes. Yet … yet … yet
Meet Two Small Business Owners Fighting to Open Wisconsin
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
In addition, Madison recently expanded its least diverse schools.
