Referendum Basics
The Riverdale School District is placing an operational referendum on the ballot for Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The referendum question asks voters permission to exceed the revenue limit, a state law that caps the amount of revenue the school district receives to pay operating expenses. Referendums have been common among Wisconsin school districts. In Spring of 2024, 103 Wisconsin school districts went to referendum, while 137 went in November of 2024.
Area School District Referendum
24 out of 32 CESA 3 school districts went to referendum in 2024. Neighboring districts Highland, Ithaca and Richland Center all passed operational referendums in the past year. Boscobel passed a capital referendum in 2023.
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Richland
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Barneveld
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Dodgeville
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Southwestern
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River Ridge
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Argyle
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La Farge
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Royall
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Cuba City
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De Soto
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Highland
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Darlington
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Viroqua
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Kickapoo
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Potosi
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Belmont
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Iowa-Grant
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River Ridge
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Ithaca
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Platteveille
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Fennimore
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Prairie Du Chien
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Mineral Point
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River Valley
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How Did We Arrive At This Point?
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Record Inflationary increase - The basic operating costs of the school district have increased to near record levels with inflation.
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Insufficient funds from the state - School have two main revenue streams, per pupil amount and state aid. State aid is used for property tax relief and is not addition revenue. Riverdale has been a low revenue district in per pupil revenue ($11,325 in 24-25) which has not kept up with inflation since 2009.
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ESSER Funds End - ESSER funds were eliminated in 2023-2024. While those funds were given to help during the pandemic the per pupil revenue was frozen.
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Private School Voucher Increase - students attending private schools can apply for vouchers, which increased from $13,000 two years ago to $94,000 this year.
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Budget Deficit - The district is projecting a $355,000 budget deficit this school year and greater deficits for the next five years.
School District Revenue Per Pupil
When the revenue limit was put on Wisconsin Schools in 1993 Riverdale was a low spending district. They have been froze in that spot since that time. From 1993 to 2009 per pupil adjustments were kept in line with inflation. Since 2009 that has not been the case. Schools lag behind by more than $3,300 since 2009. For Riverdale that is estimated to be a loss of 2.2 million dollars.
Fund Balance
Riverdale School District currently has a healthy fund balance. This will allow the district to cover the $355,000 deficit projected in 2024-2025. Without passing a referendum we will need to dip into that fund balance over the next five years to cover deficit budgets. This will cause our fund balance to drop below the recommended 25-30% of our expenditures by 26-27 and deplete the entire amount by 28-29.
Referendum Specifics
Ballot Language
Shall the Riverdale School District, Grant, Richland, Iowa and Crawford Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $767,500 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $767,500 for the 2026-2027 school year, and by $1,155,000 per year beginning with the 2027-2028 school year and ending with the 2029-2030 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational costs to maintain instructional programs, staffing, technology, transportation and facilities management?
2021 and 2025 Referendum
Adjustments Made To the District
Riverdale takes pride in fiscal responsibility. We have implemented the following changes to cut costs:
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reduction of an elementary classroom teacher resulting in larger class sizes
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elimination of two early interventionist positions
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reduction of full time library media specialists
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reduction of one full time paraprofessional support position for the 2024-2025 school year
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reduction of extra curriculum opportunities for students (cheer, FBLA, assistant Forensics coach)
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elimination of early releases and moved to fewer professional days to save transportation and student service costs, including paraprofessional support staff wages
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reduction of the number of full time support staff when part time positions could be filled
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utilization of COPS grant funding and other grant programs to supplement maintenance budget and mental health/student service programming
Tax Impact
The tax impact per $100,000 of assessed property will be an increase of $106 or $8.83 per month.
How Will the District Use the Increased Revenue?
The Riverdale School District has a proposed deficit of $355,000 in 24-25, $610,000 in 25-26, $885,000 in 26-27. In order to maintain a healthy fund balance and staffing, we are asking the taxpayers to approve the proposed non-recurring operating referendum.
This will allow the district to:
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fund the inflationary costs that impacts the district’s operating budget
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maintain programs such as full day 4K, current class sizes, JH and HS course offerings, high school AP courses, college and career opportunities and extracurricular and sporting options
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update current transportation fleet and recruit drivers
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maintain technology services
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contribute to the facilities building and maintenance projects
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manage a fiscally responsible fund balance
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competitive in wages and benefits for all teaching, support, custodial, cook, office staff and bus drivers
Failed Referendum Impact
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