PLUM CITY — Referenda have swept the state in recent years for districts looking to collect the funding needed to keep the schools afloat, and Plum City is no different, bringing a non-recurring four-year operating referendum to the table for the Nov. 5 election.

The official ballot question is as follows:

“Shall the School District of Plum City, Pierce and Pepin Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,750,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, by $1,900,000 for the 2026-2027 school year, by $2,050,000 for the 2027-2028 school year, and by $2,200,000 for the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of facility maintenance and operational expenses?”

Plum City is no stranger to referenda themselves, with passed questions in 1993, 1999, 2016 (two questions) and 2022, and failed questions in 2008 and 2020.

The estimated annual tax per $100,000 of property value would go $1,061 in tax year 2023, $886.39 in 2024 and $1,106.33 in 2025 to $1,357.06 in tax year 2026 (the first cycle the referendum would kick in), $1,251.55 in 2027, $1,329.88 in 2028 and $1,414.23 in 2029 (the final tax cycle the referendum would hit).

“Insurance has gone up, fuel has gone up, electricity has gone up, everything has gone up, just like you guys,” School Board President Erin Clare said on why the district needed to go to referendum.

The referendum would take effect the year the 2022 referendum goes out of effect, allowing Plum City to keep up with operating expenses.

Passing the referendum would also allow the district to purchase a propane bus, which they could receive some grant funding for, and replace the roof of the bus garage.

The district’s finance manager, Renee Peterson, showed the district financial reports, which included the district sitting in the red this year. Peterson said the district attempts to bring the bare minimum amount needed to keep the school going to the table in order to be less of a burden on taxpayers, and with cost increases, the previous referendum passage did not keep up. While the referendum would bring Plum City’s projections positive for the next four years, there are slim margins, and Peterson said they could be in the red at the end of the referendum again.

Peterson said during a public forum Sept. 25 that a list of potential cuts in case of a failed referendum could be brought to the Oct. 17 forum, but said middle schools sports could be cut and technical education opportunities could be lost if the referendum does not pass.

An issue Plum City and other smaller districts face is students open enrolling out of the district, with a significant chunk of the funding they would have brought to the district going to their new school. Plum City has 44 students enrolling out of the district with a total actual enrollment in the neighborhood of 250. There are 17 students open enrolling into the district. This number was reflected in the financials, with $171,000 received for students open enrolling in and $448,000 in costs for students open enrolling out of the district.

The forum was not the last that will be held, as there will be one at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Molly’s on Main, and Q&As after the Careers & Creativity Night on Oct. 23 and the concert Oct. 29, both in the high school gym.

When it came time for the public to share their questions and thoughts, community members both in favor and against the referendum spoke up. A primary discussion point was the open enrollment numbers, and why a sizable percentage of students are finding schooling outside of Plum City. The presenters said while sometimes the reasons are ones that can be addressed to keep the students in the district, other times their minds are set to search for a perceived increase in opportunity.

Some did not feel it was fair for Plum City taxpayers to fund students leaving the district, but Peterson said that is not something the district has control over.

The meeting came to an abrupt close after Tim Foslin, a former reading specialist in the district, shared why he felt the community should vote against the referendum.

“We need to do a better job here of following what the research says is best to help our students,” Foslin said.

Foslin said misbehavior from students often comes without accountability and correction and students focused on learning can suffer because of it. Foslin also mentioned non-academic time including a lack of academic production during the first week of school. Foslin claimed these factors are leading to a lower proficiency in reading and math.

“Educating students to an achievement level of at least being proficient in any subject has very little to do with how much money we spend,” Foslin said. “From a cost-benefits perspective, a vote of yes on the proposed referendum makes little or no sense.”

Roughly half the attendees filed out when Foslin began to discuss a former curriculum used by Plum City called Second Step.

“Publishers of the program have also been criticized with promoting LGBTQ and transgender agendas,” Foslin said. “Staff members are also clearly overstepping the bounds of their authority, which rightfully belongs to parents.”

“My recommendation is to take your children out of Plum City school and educate them at home,” Foslin said. “There is growing opposition and hostility towards traditional Judeo-Christian conservative influence.”

Peterson shared that in experience with other districts, agendas are being pushed, but did not feel that is the case in Plum City.

“Those agendas get pushed in other schools, I don’t feel like they get pushed here,” Peterson said.