Dear MMSD Community,
As you may recall, last fall and winter we wrapped up a series of focus groups, surveys, and community input sessions that started a few years ago to explore the idea of putting an operating referendum and a facilities referendum on the November 2020 ballot.
We received a comprehensive report in January that reflected broad support for both, and according to our original timeline, we were set to vote on whether to go to referenda in March. Then, COVID-19 happened. We hit the pause button in order to focus district resources on supporting students through school closures.
We also knew it would be important to learn if attitudes had shifted in light of this crisis, knowing that many are struggling through economically uncertain times. So we have waited in order to be cautious. We also recently commissioned a third-party poll in the community to get an accurate picture of current feelings about potential 2020 Future Ready Referenda. What we learned is that our community's appetite for referenda hasn't lessened in the wake of the health crisis we are going through. It may have even increased.
This is truly an unprecedented time we are living through. A pandemic. A nascent awakening on systemic racism. Removing School Resource Officers. Budget cuts. Planning efforts to re-open our schools. Hiring a new superintendent. It almost seems unreal. And our job, as a school board, in calm times and in uncertain times, is to do what we believe is in the best interest of our students. In this case, we also have data telling us that our community is also open to this.
Adding to the urgency we feel in supporting our students is the fact that the state may be planning drastic budget cuts to K-12 public education. We are being told to plan for unprecedented budget reductions – estimated to be in the range of $3M to $9M for the 2020-21 school year on top of the $8M in reductions already reflected in our budget. Revenues for 21-22 and 22-23 are also unclear, and we are projecting $30M to $40M budget reductions over the next four years.
August is our last opportunity to put referenda questions on the ballot. Yet we feel that we have learned a great deal over the last several months – enough to tell us that we don't need to wait another month. So on July 13, we will be voting on whether to go to referenda in November. Should we vote in favor, this gives us a couple of months to provide the community with the information needed to make an informed decision.
Please stay posted for the results of the Board action in July, and the updated information that will follow. We know that our community's need for strong public schools is more important than ever. If you want to get more involved, please reach out to Melinda Heinritz at the
Foundation for Madison's Public Schools
at
mheinritz@fmps.org
.
Sincerely,
Gloria Reyes
Board of Education President