At its December 16 meeting, the Watertown Unified School District Board of Education approved a recurring operational referendum question that will appear on the ballot Tuesday, April 1, 2025. If the referendum is approved by voters, the district will be able to exceed its state-imposed revenue limit by $7 million per year, starting in the 2025-26 school year. We would use these funds to support the following:
Strengthen School Safety - Sustain and implement additional critical safety measures to keep students and staff secure.
Protect High-Quality Programs and Services - Maintain the level of excellence our families and community expect for students across all grade levels.
Expand Opportunities for Students - Enhance programs like Career and Technical Education, agriculture, performing arts, Advanced Placement, after-school activities, and career pathways to prepare students for success.
Retain and Attract Top Talent - Invest in recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers and staff to support student learning.
An approved referendum would have an estimated annual school district property tax impact of 70 cents for every $1,000 of assessed fair market property value. The impact on a home with an assessed fair market value of $250,000, for example, would be about $175 per year.
We are proud of our successes. However, the WUSD faces significant financial challenges due largely to factors that are outside of our control. Like most Wisconsin school districts, we are struggling to balance our budget due to an inadequate state education funding system, a lack of state aid to public schools in recent years, and rising costs due to inflation.
We invite you to visit the new referendum informational page on our website at www.watertown.k12.wi.us/page/spring-referendum. This page includes a video that offers a good explanation of the funding gap experienced by many school districts across Wisconsin, including here in the WUSD. We will also continue to share more information in the weeks ahead.
Please contact Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jarred Burke with any questions at (920) 262-1460.