School Board Votes To Put Referendum Question On Ballot
At a special board meeting on August 7, 2024, the Hartford Union High School District Board of Education unanimously approved two resolutions which allows for a referendum to appear on the ballot November 5, 2024 asking our taxpayers to consider approval of $25.8 million to address our district's facility needs.
"Multiple steps were strategically taken since the Fall of 2022," said Superintendent Jeff Walters. "The district had a third party conduct a facility audit, formed a Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) consisting of staff, parents, and community members, surveyed our taxpayers, and benefited greatly from the CFAC prioritizing these needs and recently making a recommendation to our Board of Education." Walters continued, "This referendum focuses on infrastructure, safety and security, expands our footprint for Technical Education and Engineering learning, and would provide desperate investments to our track and pool that hundreds of students benefit from each year."
CFAC Chairperson Joe Minton added, "The focus needs to be on the student experience and that's infrastructure, that's the classrooms, and that's also the exterior facilities. That's what we focused on..those three buckets. You'll see the projects we identified really address the student experience."
Linked below is more information for your review.
https://go.boarddocs.com/wi/huhs/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=D7GPGE6488CA
Thank you for your engagement. We look forward to connecting with you between now and November 5th.
Community Facilities Survey Results
Our facility plan must reflect the priorities of our taxpayers. To accomplish this goal, a survey was sent in May to every household in the Hartford Union High School district boundaries. The community survey was conducted by School Perceptions.
Survey Summary:
- 70% of the survey respondents were non-parents, non-staff
- 62.5% of the respondents would support a referendum around $25 million
Top Priorities Per Survey Results:
- Replace roof sections
- Upgrade aging and inefficient parts of the HVAC system
- Update and expand Tech Education
- Improve security throughout building and across campus
- Make all restrooms ADA compliant
You can watch a video of these facilities - Here.
You'll find the Complete Survey Results - Here.
The community's feedback will be used to determine which projects, if any, should be part of the first phase of a long-term facility improvement plan. The Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) will use this input to finalize their recommendation to the school board.
HUHS Faces Critical Facilities Needs and Ongoing Funding Gap
Hartford Union High School is like many Wisconsin schools that have been left with a state funding gap since the enactment of Act 10 in 2010.
Many school districts have been forced to turn to their communities for support through referendums. This is because school funding has not kept pace with inflation. HUHS would be getting an additional $4043.54 per student...but we are not. This is a loss of nearly $6 million dollars this year alone! If the District had received this money, we would not be facing a budget shortfall.
It's important for you to know Hartford Union High School is dealing with a budget deficit due to three main reasons:
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State funding has stalled
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Enrollment numbers are going down
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The cost of doing business has gone up
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