Community survey results show split on referendum support School board to vote in June 29 special session

The Kasson-Manorville School Board put off a vote on whether to to explore an operating levy referendum this fall following a presentation Monday night of results of a community survey.
Now decisions are expected to be made as part of a special school board meeting on June 29.
Superintendent Beth Giese said the board essentially has two options.
The first option is for the school board to have Giese work with consulting firm Ehler to develop a ballot question, which would be reviewed in July. The board would then vote on whether or not to put the questions on the ballot.
“Alternatively, they may review the survey results and decide not to proceed, which would mean we would not pursue a levy this fall,” Giese wrote in an email ahead of Monday’s meeting. She said the “timeline is tight because any measure that would appear on the fall ballot needs to be finalized in July.”
“By August, the ballot information would already need to be posted to accommodate early voting,” Giese wrote.
The district’s community survey indicated a community split on a proposed operating referendum that would prevent the district from making cuts to teaching and support staff.
Less than half of respondents, 49%, advised the school district to explore a referendum to balance the budget, with that number falling to 45% for non-parent, non-district staff residents.
When presented with different options for the size of the referendum, however — including the district making cuts to staff, programs and services — a weighted 54.75% of respondents supported a $857,705 operating referendum, or $400 increase per student for the next 10 years.
That amount would translate to a roughly $215 annual increase to property taxes for the average home price in the district. The referendum would still require the district to explore budget cuts annually to balance the budget, according to the school planning survey results.
The survey showed that community support for larger referendums dropped with weighted averages of 37.75% supporting a $1.072 million or $500 per student referendum, and 21% of respondents supporting a $1.286 million or $600 per student referendum.
The Survey
The district sent out 4,718 postcards to local residents and received 1,929 responses. Of the responses, 89% were residents in the Kasson-Mantorville school district, with 71% of respondents being residents in the cities of Kasson and Mantorville and 70% of respondents having at least one child attending the school district.
The survey allowed respondents to provide advice to the school board, including how and where to make cuts, as well as what size of referendum, if any, they would support. While a majority of parents and staff supported a referendum and generally supported larger referendums, more than a third of general citizens supported cuts to staff, programs and service.
According to the school planning survey results, “These reductions will impact the quality of education our students and community have come to expect from our school district.”
The specifics of where respondents wanted cuts fell into three main categories: increasing athletics/fine arts/clubs/activity fees, reducing administration and delaying updating technology.
Increasing participation fees was the highest category for parents and teachers at 64% and 53%, respectively, with 62% of general citizens opting for administration.
One-fourth of general public respondents and 23% of parents said they didn’t have enough information to give the school board advice on whether to explore a referendum or make cuts at the district, a number that Sue Peterson, education planning specialist with ISG, found encouraging.
“This is very good data and shows a community understanding the need, with a quarter needing more information before they open their checkbook,” Peterson said in an email with the Dodge County Independent.
Previous referendum
The last voter-approved referendum for the district occurred in 2014, when voters approved a bond to renovate and expand the elementary school and high school, along with the construction of the performing arts center.
District officials cite unfunded mandates and the state general education formula lagging behind inflation as key financial challenges to the district. The current general education formula is 19% lower when adjusted for inflation than in 2003, creating a gap of $1,420 per student in the district.