In April 2017, the community voted to support a $181.3 million investment in our schools for three key areas: 

• $160 million for a new high school
• $18 million for a new swimming pool and athletic fields at the new high school
• Funds to support increased operating costs associated with the new facilities

The new Verona Area High School was completed by September 2020 and opened for in-person learning in winter 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Verona Area High School was named one of the best construction projects of 2020 by the Associated General Contractors of America. Even more important than this amazing facility is the learning, relationships, and opportunities that are developed there.

An operating referendum typically focuses on covering the regular annual operating expenses of the school district. An operating referendum gives taxpayers the opportunity to vote on whether or not to raise the district's revenue limit authority above the state-defined limit for the next four years. A facilities referendum, on the other hand, asks voters for permission to borrow funds to cover new construction or major renovation projects. 

The district is managing the financial effects of no new recurring funding authority from the State of Wisconsin, utilization of one-time funding to close budget gaps, and record-high inflation have created a scenario that will require VASD to ask for additional revenue authority to operate our school district.

The mill rate is the total amount of the tax apportionment (levy) divided by the total local assessed value for that taxing jurisdiction. This rate is expressed in mills per dollar of value or the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of the property.

The board is considering asking voters for additional operating revenue authority in the   following amounts:

• $3 million in 2023-24
• $5.5 million in 2024-25
• $4 million in 2025-26
• $2.5 million in 2026-27

This would be a cumulative of $15M in additional revenue limit authority over the next four years. The VASD operating referendum will be mill rate neutral, which means the referendum will not be the reason that a property owner’s mill rate could increase. If the property's assessed value increases, the owner’s taxes may increase as a result.

To ensure the proposed referendum does not result in a mill rate increase, VASD will leverage the prepayment of capital debt, one-time federal funding, and the impact of our community’s growing tax base. The district and board are committed to respecting the needs of our local property taxpayers and have worked hard to plan for a mill rate neutral proposal for the ballot.

In Wisconsin, public schools are funded by a combination of state dollars and local property taxes. In recent years, the amount of state aid available to public schools in our state has continued to decrease, placing more of the responsibility to fund schools on local property taxpayers.

The VASD Board of Education asked voters to give the local school board authority to exceed the revenue limit authority provided by the state legislature.

Wisconsin school districts exist in an environment that is less and less supportive of public education. We are operating under a revenue limit formula designed by the state government which sets a limit on the combined total amount of state aid and local taxes a school district may receive each year to operate the schools. Over the past several years, the revenue limit has become increasingly restrictive. With annual revenue growth that does not keep up with the cost of living, school districts must turn to cuts in personnel, programs, and services for students to balance the annual budget.

In the most recent state budget process, no new per-pupil revenue was provided for public schools. Instead, Wisconsin's legislators suggested that school districts use federal funds intended to support COVID-19 pandemic recovery to balance their budgets. This will leave the Verona Area School District with a $4 million budget gap for the 2023-24 school year. Looking ahead, we can reasonably predict the budget shortage growing to a $13 million budget gap by the 2026-27 school year.

The total tax levy is voted on by the Board of Education each year. The board has historically attempted to keep mill rates steady. Recently, the board has used Fund 39 as a method to levy additional funds to pay down capital debt early. This has given our district the opportunity to explore a Fund 10 operating referendum question. If the operating referendum question ended up on the ballot and was voted down, the board would still have the option to keep mill rate steady by paying down additional Fund 39 debt.

Each year, through the budget process, the board decides how much revenue authority is necessary to live our mission that “Every student must be successful” and accomplish the district’s goals of retaining and hiring high-quality, diverse educators, offering robust curricular programming, maintaining desirable class sizes, and providing rich programs and specialized services. The board is not required to use all of the revenue authority. Instead, it may under-levy, or take less than the available tax increment in any year.