Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
LettersOpinion
Home›Letters›Letter: Vote YES on school referenda questions

Letter: Vote YES on school referenda questions

By STEVENS POINT NEWS
October 23, 2018
652
0
Share:

To the Editor:

Voters going to the polls will have to answer two referenda questions on local school funding issues. The issues on the ballot are:

An operating referendum allowing the Stevens Point Area School District to exceed its state budget limitations by $3.5 million dollars, to be paid by local property tax assessments. $2 million will go towards educational programming, $1 million towards technology, and $500,000 will go towards a preventative maintenance budget.

The second referendum is a $75.9 million dollar bond issue which will be used for district-wide improvements to our schools for safety and security, ADA accessibility updates, technology upgrades, remodeling and construction of additional classrooms and learning areas, as well as deferred capital improvements.

State aid to local schools has been cut since 2009. The most drastic cuts occurred in 2011-2013 which reduced direct spending by the state in K-12 schools a total of $792 million dollars. Although recent budgets have made slight increases to that aid, adjusted for inflation, our local school district is still in a budget hole it cannot climb out of by tightening its belt.

The last decade has seen our aging school buildings start to crumble. Our children are squeezed into every available space. Classrooms and hallways flood. Pipes are rusting, walls and ceilings are cracking.

How long can we expect our students to learn in this environment?

We need to fully invest in our local school district. We cannot depend on state aid to make up the difference. In 2019, the state of Wisconsin will spend the same amount of money on education as it did in 2011. That’s eight years worth of inflation, of growth and expansion.

It is up to us, the voters and taxpayers in Stevens Point, the Town of Hull, Plover, Junction City, and Almond to get out there and vote to support our schools. If we all back these referenda, if we vote to spend a little more, we can provide our kids, our future leaders, with the tools they need to succeed.

Please join me in voting “yes” on the two referenda questions on the back of the ballot.

Jeanne Koepke
Stevens Point

Previous Article

Obituary: Ruth E. Harpstead

Next Article

Library to celebrate a century of the ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Letters

    World can’t ignore climate change anymore, time to contact Congress

    January 6, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Letters

    Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will be held Jan. 18

    January 6, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Letters

    Three tenants to guide you through life

    January 6, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Letters

    Plover/Whiting blood drive will be held Jan. 25

    January 13, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Letters

    Pro-Life rally will be held Jan. 31

    January 13, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Letters

    Holiday Basket program successful for another holiday season

    January 13, 2016
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • Roisin Willis

    Former SPASH track star Willis presented with proclamation

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 11, 2022
  • Rafters logo

    Rafters Weekend Roundup: Rapids splits the weekend with two wins

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 10, 2022
  • Matt Glodowski

    Stevens Point Gazette Senior Spotlight: Matt Glodowski – Amherst

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 9, 2022
  • SentryWorld preview

    Making it better than ever

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 8, 2022
  • Ann Ninnemann

    Ninnemann to be inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame

    By Kris Leonhardt
    August 7, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021
  • Looking ahead with Larry: July 2

    By Taylor Hale
    July 5, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $59 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • 2619 Post Road, Stevens Point, WI 54481
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×