Pines board forced to seek another referendum

In what has become a trend with school districts in the region, the Northland Pines Board of Education late last month voted unanimously to reach out to the public to help fund district operating expenses.
Specifically, the district will be asking voters in the upcoming Feb. 18 election if they will support, through property taxes, a three-year $5.6 million non-recurring operating referendum beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
According to Pines district administrator Scott Foster, the first-year impact on property owners in the district is projected to be $16 for each $100,000 of assessed property value if the measure passes. This will be offset in some cases because, while property values have largely increased, the mill rate used to determine the overall school tax levy has been reduced. The exact dollar impact will be driven by the latest property tax assessment levels.
If approved, the new referendum will replace a string of two consecutive $4.6 million referendums covering six years for the Pines school district that will end in 2025.
Pines is not alone in reaching out to the public for additional funding as many school districts in the area, including those in Three Lakes, Phelps and Rhinelander, are all currently operating under multi-year referendums.

Wisconsin law limits the amount of money school districts can collect from through the regular tax levy process forcing districts to go to referendums to meet operating expenses or improvements. The revenue limits are based on formulas that are complex and include factors for student enrollment levels and property tax values in each district. In addition to tax levy funding, the state of Wisconsin provides aid, however, the amount allocated to Northland Pines has been historically minimal.
Foster pointed out that the revenue limits in recent years have been outpaced by high inflation and that even with the additional $1 million per year in the planned referendum compared to the final year of the current referendum, the district will struggle to maintain its current levels of operation. He cited areas of concern, including the fact that because of the large 474 square mile district size and high fuel costs, bus transportation costs alone have reached a level of $1.6 million.
“One million dollars is 3.3% of our budgeted expense,” he said, “so after six years, we are asking for as little as we feel we can ask to maintain a high level of education within the district. The added 3.3% is at a level far lower than the levels of inflation and other fiscal challenges we have recently faced. Either way, the district is losing $4.6 million each year as the current referendum ends.”
Foster and the board of education have a conceptual supporter in Dr. Jill Underly, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Wisconsin, who was vocal after seeing the long list of referendum questions on ballots throughout the state following the general election last month.
“Our legislature has severely underfunded public schools for well over a decade,” Underly stated in a press release, “and it has led to a record number of districts going to referendum to try and fix severe financial constraints on their own. Too many communities were forced to vote on increasing property taxes just so their local schools can pay staff, heat and cool their buildings, and provide a quality education.”
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, there were 138 separate referendums on the ballot in the recent general election. Underly said that the state is sitting on billions of dollars in surplus tax dollars and that the extensive number of school districts going to referendum is “proof that our state is not living up to its responsibility.”
Jennifer Payne is the president of the Northland Pines School District and shared similar concerns at the November regular school board meeting.
“Until the state legislature changes,” she said, “the referendum process will continue to be a present and future part of our district as well as a part of many other school districts.”
While most referendum votes in the region have passed in recent elections, there have been some communities where the measures failed. School districts in Tomahawk and Elcho recently faced such scenarios by close margins of 34 and 30 votes leaving Foster in a potentially challenging position as he tries to share details with the public.
Part of his outreach will include a series of informational meetings scheduled at each school location in January, with a final public meeting at the Walter E. Olson Memorial Library in Eagle River on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 4 p.m.