Randolph School District

Decades ago, the state pledged to cover two-thirds of the costs to educate students. Through a series of legislative changes, the state now covers significantly less. In the early 2000s, Wisconsin invested about $1,500 more per student than the U.S. average; today, we spend almost $2,000 less per student than the national average.

Like all districts, we are also challenged by "unfunded mandates." These are strict legal requirements from the state and federal government—such as some special education services—that we must implement without receiving the money to pay for them. For example, in the 1970s, Wisconsin reimbursed districts for about 70% of special education costs. Last year, that reimbursement dropped to roughly 30%. Just recently, the state projected a 42% reimbursement rate for this year, only to drop the actual allocation to 35% after districts had set their budgets. That single change was an unexpected $60,000 hit to our local budget.

While the state used to dedicate almost 45% of the state’s general funds to state aid for K-12 schools, they now only contribute about 30%.

The State of Wisconsin has systematically and purposefully shifted the burden of public school funding from the state to local taxpayers and there is no sign that will change in the near future.

Without this referendum funding, the Randolph School District will run out of money in two years.

The question on the ballots in April will read:

Shall the Randolph School District, Dodge and Columbia Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $975,000 per year for three years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational and maintenance expenses, including for educational programming and facility maintenance?

A “YES” vote means that the School Board will be authorized to levy up to $975,000 more in taxes each of the next three years.

A “NO” vote means that the school board will NOT be authorized to levy any additional taxes beyond those already authorized by the state funding formula. It means that in order to avoid running out of funds in two years, approximately $1,000,000 of expenses will need to be eliminated almost immediately.

If the referendum doesn’t pass, several things will happen:

• The District’s low revenue ceiling will remain frozen for three school years or until a referendum is passed.
• The District will begin planning a new referendum request for an upcoming vote date.
• The District will need to begin discussions about consolidation or dissolution in case the community continues to not support these referendum requests.
• In order to avoid running out of funds in two years, approximately $1,000,000 of expenses will need to be eliminated almost immediately.
  • About 75% of the budget is personnel, so most of these cuts will come from reducing positions, increasing class sizes, decreasing services, etc.
  • Savings on utility costs will be pursued through means such as keeping the building warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter, reducing usage outside of regular school hours, and charging more for community use of facilities.
  • Only critical maintenance and repairs will be completed.
  • Bus transportation will be eliminated as much as possible.
  • Fees that cover the actual costs of extracurricular activities and athletics will need to be considered.
  • Fewer, longer school days will need to be considered to allow for savings on transportation, staffing, and utilities.

Many factors can impact taxes, such as individual property reassessments, changes to overall value of properties in the school district, and changes to the levy rates for the different entities that levy taxes on properties (schools, villages/townships, etc.). The following table provides estimates on future taxes if the referendum passes.

The average home value in Randolph over the past year was $283,192*. Over the three years of this referendum, an owner of such a home would only see an average increase of $87 per YEAR (due to the referendum passing), which is an average of $7.24 per month.

* retrieved 2/9/2026 1:24 pm from https://www.zillow.com/home-values/26683/randolph-wi/
¹ Look for “Total Est. Fair Mkt.” near the top-right of your tax bill.
² Does not include reductions due to First Dollar or Lottery & Gaming Credits.

Through what is called debt defeasance, the District is able to structure debt payments and the associated tax levies. The District is planning to use some of the fund balance in Fund 39 (the Referendum Approved Debt Service Fund) for debt payments next year. This means the District will have to levy less tax for debt payments that year, which holds taxes relatively steady. The “bump” in the second year is when the debt service portion of the tax levy returns to a more typical level.

As an example of the impact this has, if the District did not have funds saved to help offset debt payments, the average home mentioned in the “tax impact” answer would see an average increase of $217/year instead of $87/year; which would come as a $320 increase the first year, a $130 decrease the second year, and a $48 decrease the third year. By structuring debt payments the way they did, the District was able to “smooth out” this transition.

The District began cutting expenses leading up to the first referendum vote last year, and has continued cutting additional expenses.

Examples of those reductions include:

• Did not replace Business Manager
• Did not replace Director of Teaching and Learning
• Did not replace District Assessment Coordinator
• Reduced District Administrator position to half-time by sharing with Cambria-Friesland
• Reduced some teaching and support staff FTE
• Reduced HSA benefit by 50% (saving ~$80,000)

Leading up to this April’s vote, the district has continued identifying additional areas where expenses can be reduced. The request for $975,000 of annual funding is insufficient on its own to balance the budget; another $235,000 must be cut going into next year.

Examples of potential savings going into next year include:

• Discontinue CESA 5 Special Education Director services (Elementary Principal is taking over, $75,680 est. savings)
• Don’t replace the 0.5 FTE of English teacher covered by the MHSP grant ($44,494 est. savings)
• Share Activities Director with another district 50-50 ($45,793 est. savings)
• Share IT Support with another district 50-50 ($45,990 est. savings)
• Share Band Director with another district 50-50 ($46,102 est. savings)
• Share Choir Director with another district 50-50 ($46,102 est. savings)
• Share Nurse with another district 50-50 ($30,643 est. savings)
• Share a Library Media Specialist with another district 50-50 ($16,194 est. savings)
• Eliminate one morning bus route—reducing to the same number of routes as the afternoon ($7,200 est. savings)

Yes! Nearly all Wisconsin school districts have had to resort to operational referendums. This map shows operational referendum history for nearby districts.

There are several reasons why expenses don’t decline when enrollment declines. Students don’t come in nice, neat packages. A decline of 20 students in a single elementary grade is very different from the same decline spread over all elementary grades and is also different from such a decline over a single high school grade. For example, if a district has two classes at each grade level from kindergarten to fifth grade, and those classes each have 20 students, then that elementary has 240 students. If the population declines 10% evenly across classes, to 216 students, there are now 18 students per class. The same number of teachers are needed even though there are fewer students, so there is no reduction in costs. Take that same group of students, though, and if the decline occurs all in a couple grades, then you may be able to reduce to one classroom in each of those grades, thereby saving costs through staff reductions.

Another factor in the State of Wisconsin is the “declining enrollment exemption.” The state understands the situation described above, so they provide a declining enrollment exemption as part of the school funding formula. This exemption helps soften the blow from per-student based funding metrics when enrollment declines. Randolph has benefitted greatly from this exemption. This year, Randolph’s declining enrollment exemption brought in $326,283 extra dollars! That exemption is projected to peak next year at $359,339. The exemption is only intended to soften the blow, not deflect it completely, however, so with Randolph’s plateauing enrollment projections we are also projecting decreasing exemptions for declining enrollment. We currently project that our exemption will be less than half what it is today, dropping to $142,883 by the 2029-30 school year.

Public education works because we all chip in – whether we have kids in the classroom or not. Strong schools are the heart of a thriving town; they welcome new families who support our local businesses and help sustain our economy. They also keep our neighborhoods stable and our home values high. When our schools flourish, our whole community shines. By supporting education, we are building a better life for everyone.

A message from Dr. Dude:

One thing has remained constant as I have worked in five states and in schools and school districts from hundreds to tens of thousands of students: people always question the value of administrators. And it's not surprising that they do. Administrators are often the highest paid employees in a school district and much of their work is done outside of the public view. It's not flashy but it's essential to the ongoing operation of schools and school districts. If your interactions with a school district are that you once went to school, you attend some sporting events, and you drive a bus, for example, it’s understandable that you are [lacking knowledge, information, or awareness]* about what is going on behind the scenes. Here are some examples of things administrators do -- often with the help of their support staff -- that you may or may not be aware of.

For a lot of us, the workday starts around 4:30 or 5:00 AM. While most people are still asleep, the Superintendent may be on the phone with other superintendents, the maintenance staff, or the county roads department making a call on a snow day. Principals may be staring at a spreadsheet of absences, trying to figure out how to cover six classrooms when only two substitutes are available. It’s a constant scramble to make sure that when the kids show up, the building is actually functional -- that the heat is on, the buses are running, and there’s someone at the front of every classroom. If we succeed, the community never even knows there was a crisis to begin with.

Once the kids arrive, whatever schedule an administrator had planned usually goes out the window. If you see an administrator in the hallway with a walkie-talkie, they’re rarely just "patrolling." They’re likely headed to a classroom to de-escalate a situation or deal with a safety issue. A single fight or a serious bullying report can eat up four or five hours of an afternoon. It isn't just about handing out a consequence; it’s the tedious work of interviewing ten different witnesses, pulling camera footage, calling parents, and filing the necessary paperwork for state reporting or law enforcement. We deal with the chaos so that teachers can actually focus on teaching.

A huge chunk of the job also happens behind a closed office door, and it’s mostly centered on legal compliance. If a district loses its funding or gets hit with a lawsuit, it’s usually because someone messed up the paperwork side of things. We spend hours in IEP meetings, making sure students with disabilities get exactly what they’re legally entitled to. We’re also constantly navigating new state mandates, updating safety codes, and sorting through messy custody disputes to figure out who is actually allowed to pick up a child. It’s high-stakes, exhausting work that no one notices until something goes wrong.

Then there’s the HR side of the house. Schools are often one of the largest employers in an area. Administrators are often recruiting in a market where finding a qualified math, science, or special education teacher is like finding a needle in a haystack. We’re interviewing, checking references, and managing contracts. Beyond just hiring, we have to be "instructional leaders." That means spending hours in classrooms observing teachers -- not to be "the boss," but to provide the kind of feedback that actually helps them improve. It also means having the difficult, private conversations with staff who aren't meeting the mark, ensuring that every student has a competent adult in front of them.

Finally, there’s the "second shift." When the kids go home, our day is usually only halfway done. You’ll see the Superintendent at a board meeting until 11:00 PM or a Principal standing on the sidelines of a Friday night football game. It’s the band concerts, the parent forums, and the late-night sessions spent answering the 50+ emails and voicemails that piled up while we were handling crises during the school day. It’s spending time writing an essay like this because a social media keyboard warrior thinks he knows everything but actually knows very little. It’s a lot of face time and community PR that is expected but rarely factored into a typical 40-hour mindset. While many work a 9 to 5, administrators often work a 5 to 9.

The reality of school administration is that it’s a job designed to be invisible. When the buses show up on time, the budget stays in the black, and the building is safe, it looks like the school is just running itself. But that "nothing happened" feeling is actually the result of 60-hour weeks spent keeping the wheels from falling off.

While this message has been focused on administrators – since talks of a funding referendum almost always bring that up – we can’t forget that there are so many teachers, paraprofessionals, and other support staff who also work day in and day out to provide our students with amazing experiences in a safe and supportive environment. They are also crucial to our work and to our community and we should be thankful for everyone who serves our students.

~ Dr. Dude ~

* Word replaced with its definition to ensure clarity on the meaning of the sentence

No, the District only receives funding for students who attend the District’s schools. The state requires enrollment data in September and January and the District’s funding is based on those counts. Students who are homeschooled, open enroll out to other districts, or attend private schools, are not counted in the District’s enrollment, so the District receives no funding for them.

• About 25% of the “RANDOLPH SCHOOL” line on your property tax bill goes to private/parochial schools through vouchers
• Staffing decreased 7.5 FTE from last year to this year
• RSD’s budget deficit is $220,000 this year
• 78% of RSD expenses are for staff, professional services, and utilities
• More than half of Wisconsin school districts spend more per student than Randolph does
• RSD maintains over 125,000 square feet of building space and 40 acres of grounds
• 24 CFSD and RSD students move beteween our districts for classes this quarter
• RSD nets +43 students between open enrollment in and out this year
• RSD has a “rainy day” fund that is quickly drying up
• 71% of RSD’s funding comes from State aid, not property taxes
• The average Randolph home would only see an average increase of $87 per YEAR (due to the referendum passing), which is an average of $7.24 per month.