Athens K-12 continues referendum talks
Debby Brunett of Baird Public Finance in Milwaukee provided the Athens Board of Education with options for various capital and operational referendums at Monday’s monthly meeting.
Brunett said the district will have a projected $500,000 budget deficit beginning in 2027-2028 after the four-year, non-recurring operational referendum that voters passed in April of 2023 ends. Brunett believes it will be necessary for the board to ask voters to pass a new operational referendum so the district can continue to operate.
The district also has a long list of deferred maintenance projects in its school buildings that could be addressed by a capital improvements referendum.
The board’s first opportunity to adopt one or two referendum resolutions is by Dec. 9, for them to appear on the Feb. 17, 2026 spring primary ballot. The challenge is that state law restricts school districts from having more than two board resolutions in the same year. The 2026 spring general election is April 7, followed by the fall primary on Aug. 11 and the general election on Nov. 3.
Brunett said it’s possible for a district to have an operational referendum where it uses some of the money for capital improvement projects, as long as voters know how much they will cost.
As part of the next step in the referendum planning process, the board’s finance, facilities and operations committee will have a series of 4 p.m. meetings this fall in the middle/ high school library. The first meeting will be on Monday, Sept. 15, followed by the board’s annual meeting and budget hearing.
The committee will meet again on Monday, Oct. 27, prior to the monthly board meeting, where the fall community survey questions will be approved. The committee will meet again on Monday, Nov. 17, prior to the board meeting where the survey results will be presented.
The committee will also meet on Monday, Dec. 15, before the school board meeting, at which point a community referendum advisory committee will be formed.
Other business
■ The board directed superintendent Andrea Sheridan to research outside firms who could conduct a feasibility study on whether or not it makes financial sense for the district to build an elementary chool addition onto the middle/high school building instead of continuing to repair the old Athens Elementary building.
■ Board members will vote next month on a proposed policy requiring the district to maintain a minimum of 18 percent of its budget in its fund balance each school year, with a target of 27 percent. The district does not currently have a fund balance policy.
■ The board decided to change its policy on personal communication devices to no longer allow middle school students to use their cell phones before and after school, during their lunch break and in between classes. High school students will still be able to use their cell phones during these periods of time. Elementary and middle school students are now required to have their cell phones powered off in their backpacks or lockers during the school day, unless a staff member permits their use for educational purposes.
Board member Kat Becker brought up the issue of students being concerned about keeping their cell phones in unlocked lockers. Middle/high school principal Juli Gauerke-Peter told Becker that any student can request to have a combination lock placed on their school locker.
■ Board members approved the district’s annual agreement with the Marathon County Children with Disabilities Board for the 2025-26 school year, following a presentation by Dr. Kelly Kaptiz.
Kaptiz said Marathon County Special Education is a consortium of six rural school districts in Marathon County that serves a total of 570 students with disabilities. She said Athens currently has 63 students with disabilities, which is 12.8 percent of its total enrollment. This compares to the state average of 15.7 percent of students with disabilities. Kapitz said 18 consortium staff members work in Athens, some of whom are shared with other districts in the consortium.
■ The board approved the hiring of Carley- Chwala as a full-time library media specialist. The board also approved the resignation of full-time high school art teacher Crystal Krienke-Bonkoski and voted to hire Annwn Kohlmoos as her replacement.
■ Board members approved the resignation of Kayla Passehl as full-time nutrition services lead cook and voted to hire Lisa Redmann as her replacement.
■ The board approved the hiring of fulltime school district EL and multilingual teacher Mya Becker and full-time Title 1 parental engagement coordinator Laurie Jacoby. The board also approved the hiring of full-time administrative assistant Beth Plisch at Maple Grove Charter School in Hamburg.
■ The board approved Alexis Medford as a Fellowship of Christian Athletes volunteer at Athens High School. Board members approved Emma Sommer as a paid varsity assistant volleyball coach and Kathy Luther and Chris Czech as volunteer varsity assistant volleyball coaches.
