In August the Sparta Area School District (SASD) Board of Education approved an $87,000,000 referendum question for the November 5th ballot for safety and renovations of various school buildings. The two major safety concerns to be addressed include a bus and drop off access at the Southside Early Learning Center and a secured, one-door entrance into Meadowview Middle School.

The major renovation project proposed is a large-scale demolition and remodel of the original section of the high school which is 60 years old and has had major additions a couple of times over the years. Other, much smaller, safety concerns and facility needs will be included in the project.

The SASD includes not only the City of Sparta but all or parts of twelve Monroe County townships plus one in Jackson County. In recent years, after a failed operating fund referendum, the SASD Board rushed to close the last rural elementary school which was in Cataract.

The first question has to be the impact on the taxpayer. The cost to district taxpayers is reportedly $12 annually per $100,000 of property value. A quick look online at “Houses for Sale in Sparta Area” found just one of 17 listed at under $200,000 while 4 more were under $300,000 and 6 more were under a half million. That leaves six more properties listed at over half a million – impacting the taxpayer at a lot more than the $12 annually.

This is reminiscent of the recent spring referendum when the SASD boasted that they had lowered the mill rate by 7% over the previous few years, but failed to point out that property values had increased in the city and many townships by 25%! You do the math -- paying 7% less on 25% more is still more!

There are other considerations concerning the SASD. Over the years of the previous two (or more) superintendents I have heard reports of the good condition of the facilities and the great maintenance program. So why do we suddenly need such a significant amount for “safety and renovations”? Southside Early Learning Center underwent a major renovation and expansion not too many years ago so what has changed that the “bus and drop off area” needs a safety upgrade? SASD is at the low end of the state aid, but how much of that is due to the sudden loss of Cataract students that transferred out of the SASD after their Elementary School was closed?

How much did the SASD Board investigate internally for cost savings measures? For example, the COVID-19 experience clearly demonstrated the failures of virtual learning, but Sparta still has their Sparta Virtual Learning Academy. On the other hand, their once successful, project-oriented High Point Charter School was closed a few years ago so changes can be made!

SASD, in their defense, explains a lot of their financial management as either state directed or as incentivized by state mandates. For example, a few years ago they had a little surplus which was put into a fund with serious limitations attached and this money became the newly renovated football field – one of the best football fields in the area. And, seems it is state incentive to pay off debt (low interest rates) and then borrow more money (higher interest rates). All of this is hard to believe.

SASD also did some preliminary research and found out 54.5% of those citizens surveyed either definitely or probably support the $87 million dollar referendum. And, SASD has some community information sessions scheduled for September 25th, October 15th, and October 21st. This is good for public information except ballots will be mailed out beginning September 19th which is before the first informational meeting.

Everything shouldn’t be construed as negative as there are some potentially good parts to the project. One is the new single entrance at Meadowview Middle School for security reasons. Life in general, or security needs in particular, have dramatically changed since that school was built a couple of short decades ago. Another project worthy of support is the original part of the high school as after 60 years it is both worn out and inadequate for today’s needs. However, a demolition and a re-build sound quite different from “renovations”. Maybe it is the negative connotations of “building”?

Then, we should look at the neighborhood economy. Monroe County, and the SASD is a significant part of Monroe County, was still in debt $33,175,000 at the end of 2023 for things like the Justice Center and Rolling Hills. Projections have that debt remaining over at $16 million into 2029. And the Monroe County Board has spent much of 2024 talking about a new, multi-million dollar consolidated office complex which has recently been silenced – but maybe only for a while.

On the other hand, what is a mere $87,000,000? Nearby Tomah, the other city-based school district in Monroe County, recently announced $177,335,000 referendum for their taxpaying citizens. As a friend e-mailed me when that was announced “Holy S--- Tomah must be flush with money…”!

SASD has been good over the years for establishing citizen groups when they want to build a new school (or even a football field). Maybe they should establish an ad hoc committee to do a deep dive into the SASD financial policies and procedures to include the state requirements that interfere with or otherwise impact good financial practices?

So much for the SASD to be working on and the recent federal manipulations on Title IX are now taking center stage as the hot topic of the day! Discussion on academic excellence seems to be missing. It is imperative that citizens in all school districts (not just SASD) become knowledgeable activists and even offer a word of encouragement to local school board members!