FAQ

The district is considering two referendum questions: one for operations and one for facilities. 

1. Operational referendum: maintains smaller class sizes, supports staff compensation, and continues current programs and services. Click here to view the full history of operational referendums at HSSD. 

HSSD is looking to replace the current $5 million/year for five years with $7 million/year for 7 years. This means that in 2026-27 and 2027-28, it would be $2 million/year. Then beginning with the 2028-29 school year, it would be $7 million for 5 years. This can be accomplished without increasing the tax rate.  

2. Facilities referendum: Funds necessary to make updates and renovations to aging buildings. Because the Board has been financially responsible by paying down debt faster than is required, HSSD has the opportunity to complete up to $147 million of facilities work without increasing the tax rate. Visit the pre-referendum website to learn more about what is being considered.

The current operational referendum expires in 2027-28. This referendum will be a renewal of the operational referendum that voters approved in 2021. 

Revenue limits were implemented by the State of Wisconsin in 1993. A revenue limit is the maximum amount of revenue that districts can collect from property taxes and state aid. It restricts how much funding school districts can receive each year, regardless of inflation, costs, or student needs. 

The district is seeking voter permission to exceed the revenue limit in order to keep class sizes low, to provide competitive wages for staff, and to continue student programs and services that are offered today.

Legally, a district can ask two questions per calendar year. The operational and facilities questions must be separate.

HSSD is grateful that the community approved two referendum questions in 2021. One was operational and one was for facilities. View all that was accomplished as the result of the 2021 referendum questions: operational and facilities.

• Operational: reduced class sizes low, supported employee compensation, and ongoing facilities maintenance needs. 
• Facilities: major renovations at Bay View and Forest Glen, along with updates to every school.

HSSD operates within state-mandated revenue limits. All financial activity is publicly reviewed and monitored through Board policies on budgeting, financial planning, and fiscal accountability. 

HSSD concluded the 2024-25 school year with a balanced budget. The district had projected a nearly $3 million deficit heading into the 2025-26 school year. The district implemented cost savings measures and reduced more than $300,000 in district office positions to address the deficit. Unfortunately, it will become increasingly difficult to operate within the current budget circumstances in future years as costs continue to rise faster than revenue limits increase. 

The only debt the district carries is from the previous capital referendum. As stewards of the public’s tax dollars, the Board has been working to pay down debt faster than it is due. It has saved nearly $6 million dollars in interest expense with this practice. Because of this, there is an opportunity to complete up to $147 million in facilities work and to proceed with a $7 million operational referendum for 7 years without a tax rate increase.

Finances are reviewed at every Board of Education meeting. Additionally, the district goes through a financial audit by an independent third party each year. These results can be found on our Finance page.

• If neither question passes, the Board will evaluate the same factors it always does when setting the future tax rate, including property values, future planning, and existing debt pre-payment. They would likely re-engage the community and review priority educational, operational, and facilities needs for another potential referendum in the near future.
• If Question #1: Operational Referendum is not approved, the current operational referendum expires at the end of the 2027-2028 school year. HSSD will review class sizes, student programs, and staffing to offset the expected loss of revenue prior to June 2028.
• If Question #2: Facilities Referendum is not approved, the proposed updates for capital maintenance, safety, accessibility, energy efficiency, and learning spaces will be postponed. Capacity constraints will continue to impact students and programs at Meadowbrook, Howard, and Lineville. Our Career and Technical Educational programs, as well as science classrooms and labs, at Bay Port High School will not be renovated or expanded to meet current student demand and evolving program needs.

State funding for public education has not kept pace with inflation or increased expectations. In 2024-25, HSSD ranked 403 out of 421 Wisconsin districts in per-student funding. Despite advocacy by the HSSD Board of Education, revenue limits remain tight. In these conversations and in conversations at the state level, legislators have been clear that they believe that school district funding should be controlled locally. Essentially, this means that they require districts to go to referendum.

State lawmakers, not local districts, set revenue limits and aid formulas. Until those laws change, the only legal way to access revenue beyond the revenue limit is through a voter-approved referendum. 

HSSD has and will continue to make positive connections with state and local elected officials. Each year, the Board holds a legislative linkage, advocates for public school funding at Day at the Capitol, and engages in conversations with state officials. While these have been productive conversations, state legislators have made it clear that they believe that funding should be controlled locally.

Because of the strategic finance decisions the Board has made, the district is not asking for additional tax dollars, but instead asking for required permission to spend the funds in a different manner.

The Board has made strategic financial decisions to reduce the tax rate five times in the past five years. Additionally, by paying down debt faster than required, the district has saved nearly $6 million in interest. Because of this approach, some of the district’s old debt is now being paid off, which allows us the opportunity for new debt within the current tax rate. 

A helpful comparison is that of a home mortgage: imagine you have been paying extra on your mortgage each month so that you can pay off your loan faster. If you then need a major home repair, like a new roof, you could take out a home equity loan. When you take on the new loan, you may want to stop paying extra towards your first mortgage and instead use those funds to pay for your home equity loan. This keeps your monthly payments the same. 

As the district pays off its existing debt, room opens up within the $7.69 tax rate. That room can be used to support facilities improvements while keeping the overall tax rate stable. At the same time, the operational referendum supports ongoing school needs, like maintaining class sizes, programs, and staff compensation, which cannot be paid for through borrowing but are essential for student learning and require voter approval.

Below is a chart that shows how the debt service decreases and operational referendum spending increases, if the referendum is successful in April.

Click here to view finance information as it relates to the referendum.

No, school funding comes through three main sources:

1. State Aid (set by formula) (60%)
2. Local Property Taxes (26%)
3. Federal Grants (4%) and 
4. Other small revenues (fees, open enrollment, donations) (10%)

HSSD receives less per-student funding than the state average, making referendums necessary to maintain programs and staffing.

HSSD has saved $6 million in interest since 2017 by paying down facilities debt early. In Superintendent Smith's first year as superintendent, HSSD:

• Reduced $300,000 in district office staffing
• Reduced another $625,000 in staffing decisions district-wide
• Received $120,000 from the Howard-Suamico Education Foundation (HSEF) to go towards student learning experiences
• Received $137,000 in grants
• Continued to evaluate and negotiate contracts as they end and begin. Thus far, HSSD has avoided increases of $480,000. 

Individual tax bills are based on property value changes. While HSSD controls the tax rate for the school district portion of an individual’s tax bill, the Department of Revenue determines your home’s equalized (fair market) value. Because equalized values have been increasing in recent years, a tax rate decrease does not guarantee a lower property tax bill. Visit our Finance page to watch a video about how the tax rate is set.

No. Property assessments are determined by the municipality and the Department of Revenue. This reflects market value, not school district spending. The district lowered the tax rate in order to reduce the burden of increasing property values while still planning for the future.

No. Each year, the Board of Education sets the tax rate. With the 2021 referendum, the Board committed to a tax rate of $8.99. Since that commitment, the Board has lowered the tax rate each year, down to $7.69 this year. If the referendum does not pass, the Board will evaluate the same factors it always does when setting the future tax rate, including property values, future planning, and a debt pre-payment.

The Board of Education stated that the tax rate would remain at $7.69 if the referendum passes. Your property taxes could still increase if your property value increases.

Overall, district enrollment has been relatively steady with a slight downward trend. Most of that enrollment decline since 2018 has been due to the district reducing available open enrollment spaces for out-of-district students in an effort to keep class sizes low and staffing levels stable after the 2018 operational referendum. That said, Meadowbrook attendance is projected to increase due to the growth within its attendance boundaries. 

HSSD completed two enrollment studies in the past five years by two separate, independent third party companies, MD Roffers and Woolpert. These results, along with an assortment of other important information, can be found on our website. 

Capacity is a function of class size guidelines and the number of classrooms in a school. Committing, as we have, to low class sizes means that some of our buildings are at or nearing their capacity limits.

Educational adequacy is the assessment of how effectively spaces support student learning and program delivery.

Functional Capacity is the total number of students for desired level of schedule flexibility and class size targets

Maintaining reasonable class sizes supports student learning, safety, and engagement. 

In 2018 when the district passed its first operational referendum, the community shared that small class sizes were a top priority. Additionally, they provided feedback that HSSD should lessen the number of open enrolled students. HSSD has maintained the commitment to reduction in open enrollment available spaces and lower class sizes.

Salaries and wages make up 73.8% of our current operating budget. Currently HSSD’s salaries and wages are not competitive in the local market. The starting teacher salary at HSSD is the third lowest in the CESA 7 region. Compensation is one of many factors when seeking new staff and it is difficult to competitively pay employees while staying within the revenue limit.

At HSSD, our students exceed academic measures. Click here to see the HSSD District Report Card. 

Student success is monitored by the Board of Education through Ends Policies. These policies focus on core academics, student engagement indicators, and Graduate Profile skills. The mission of HSSD is to work together with families and the community to ensure that our students have the knowledge and skills to succeed in a changing world. This means that we strive to ensure that our students are life, career, and/or college ready.

Some older buildings require updates for capital maintenance, safety, accessibility, energy efficiency, and updated learning spaces. Specifically, Meadowbrook, Howard, and Lineville have space constraints to deliver current academic programming. Currently, some students meet with staff members in the hallway, which leads to distractions and safety concerns . In addition, Bay Port is unable to provide access to certain classes due to space constraints. This challenge is most noted in the area of Career and Technical Education programs. 

The cost of funding significant capital projects is far greater than the state provides for school districts. Hence, the reason for the referendum. 

Referendum question #2 requests voter authorization to borrow funds not to exceed $147 million to fund facilities improvements in six of our eight schools.

Preliminary budgets for each proposed building project include renovations, upgrades, new construction and removal of existing spaces (if applicable), site work, prioritized capital maintenance, furniture, fixtures, equipment, professional services, permitting, and other required fees.

The estimated cost breakdown by building is as follows:

• Bay Port High: $65.3 million
• Lineville Intermedia: $33 million
• Meadowbrook Elementary: $23 million
• Howard Elementary: $12.7 million
• Suamico Elementary: $11.2 million
• Bay Harbor Elementary: $1.8 million

Meadowbrook, Howard, and Suamico elementary schools include new gym additions as part of their proposed plans to help address space and renovation needs. 

The reasons for this approach vary based on the location, but generally this strategy allows us to maximize and repurpose existing spaces for other uses, which helps minimize cost while addressing numerous facility issues.

• At Meadowbrook, the current gym, cafeteria, kitchen, and office are all undersized for their student capacity and community use. 
  • By building a new properly-sized elementary gym, we can maximize and repurpose the current gym into a larger cafeteria and kitchen. 
  • This then allows us to transition the existing cafeteria into a new, expanded secure main entrance and main office location.
• At Howard and Suamico, the current gyms are significantly undersized with limited floor space outside the court lines. This creates safety concerns for players and limits spectator space. 
  • At these locations, it is more structurally efficient to remove and replace the existing gym with a properly-sized elementary gym.
  • This then creates space for expanded kitchens, classrooms, and special education resource areas.

Visit our website for all information about this topic. On this page, you will find contact information for the superintendent. He and the Board of Education welcome your questions and connections.

• Published all financial reports and referendum materials online.
• Hosted multiple public listening sessions in October 2025. 
• Completed independent enrollment, facility, and educational adequacy studies.
• Shared annual audits and Board financial monitoring reports. 
• Encouraged public engagement through surveys and listening sessions.

Non-recurring operational referendums are temporary and provide stability for a limited time. Rising costs, inflation, and state-imposed funding caps continue beyond five years. Therefore, a renewal is necessary.

• Referendum resources: 🔗 www.hssdschools.org/community/referendum
• District-wide financial reports: 🔗 www.hssdschools.org/departments/finance