Spencer plans three referendum info meetings

The Spencer Board of Education will hold three public information meetings over the next several weeks to let residents know more about the school district’s April 6 revenue cap exemption referendum.

In just about a month, the district will be asking voters to approve a 1-year, $975,000 cap exemption that will allow the district to meet anticipated expenses while maintaining a close-to-balanced annual budget. It will, in effect, be an extension of the 5-year cap exemption voters approved in 2016, and would give the district an additional year to assess its financial situation before it brings a longer-term referendum forward for approval.

The information meeting shedule: -- March 17: This session will be part of the Board of Education’s regular monthly meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the distance learning center (Door 22).

-- March 25: This session will begin at 4 p.m. in the distance learning center.

-- March 29: This session will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the LuCille Tack Center for the Arts.

All three sessions will be available by a Zoom online link. To access the link, visit www.spencer.k12.wi.us The district’s current 5-year cap exemption will expire at the end of this school year. As the Board planned for another possible 5-year exemption referendum, it found it was a difficult time to make accurate long-term financial estimates.

One factor is the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on student enrollments. Spencer’s enrollment fell by about 80 students this year as some families enrolled their children in online programs rather than send them to school. Enrollment numbers weigh heavily in a district’s state revenue amounts.

Also, according to District Administrator Mike Endreas, Spencer and other districts are not sure of what to expect from the state. The Legislature will approve a new 2-year state budget later in 2021, and that will have significant impacts on the local school budget.

Endreas said approval of the 1-year cap extension would mean stable property tax rates as taxpayers have been funding the $975,000 amount for each of the last five years.

In addition to passing the cap exemption referendum in 2016, Spencer district voters also gave approval to a building project referendum in 2019. The local taxes authorized for the project -- which includes a concrete dome that’s currently under construction -- is in addition to almost $3 million in federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds the district procured for the project. The FEMA grant funding was available because the concrete dome will be used as a community emergency storm shelter as well as for school purposes, including a gymnasium and community fitness center.

The dome structure is expected to be ready for school use by September.