by Superintendent Mitch Wainwright
“Grounded by our history as one of the oldest publicly supported schools in Wisconsin, the Mineral Point Unified School District is the heart of a small community that educates and inspires our students for a bright future in a big world.”
That is our district’s mission statement and the words we live by each day. For nearly 200 years, since the first record of a school in Mineral Point in 1829, it has been our duty to ensure we are providing the best education possible to every student that walks through our doors in order to properly prepare them for whatever path they choose following graduation.
The Mineral Point School Board will be working on final numbers for an upcoming November 5 operating referendum in the next few weeks, alongside school finance experts from Baird, a company that works with hundreds of school districts. At its core, an operating referendum will allow the district to continue offering the same experiences and services to our students in the coming years. An operating referendum does not provide money for new programs or staff; it also is not a referendum to renovate or construct new facilities. It is to maintain and retain what we currently have.
No administrator or school board looks forward to asking voters for more money just to operate their district and pay the bills. We are empathetic to the unique and varying situations of our fellow taxpayers, but unfortunately, the time has come to make the ask in order to help keep our school system the envy of many in southwest Wisconsin, and a destination district for families and staff.
School finance is a complicated topic in Wisconsin. Districts operate under revenue limit caps that were implemented by the state in 1993. This dollar amount from 31 years ago limits what the school can receive from the state and taxpayers in the form of aid and levy dollars. That means, what Mineral Point spent in 1993 is what we are capped at and, by law, we need to ask for additional money from taxpayers if we wish to exceed this amount.
When these limits were implemented, it was thought the state would provide additional increases to keep up with inflation, but unfortunately, that has not always been the case since 2009. By the end of 2025, the revenue limit will have fallen $3,300 behind inflation per student, according to the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials.
Just like inflation has hit every household, it has also hit the school itself. At home, you are paying more for groceries, lights, water, heat, fuel, and nearly every other item you need. The same is true of the school district. We pay a higher price to feed our students, turn the lights on, run water through the building, heat our buildings, and run our buses. Inflation has hit all of us. Unlike a business, a school has a harder time raising revenues without a vote from its citizens. We need to be able to continue to operate our buildings safely and efficiently.
Our school district continues to offer some of the best educational experiences in southwest Wisconsin, providing a great return on our investment. We continue to Exceed Expectations on the Department of Public Instruction’s State Report Card. In 2023-24 alone, Pointer pride has been exceptionally exciting — we have produced state champions and qualifiers, and even national qualifiers, in such diverse areas as FFA, boys basketball, golf, trap shooting, musical theatre, art, track and field, civics, forensics, yearbook publication, music solo and ensemble, gymnastics, careers/trades, business, wrestling, and cross country, just to name a few.
In addition to these public successes, equally important are the behind-the-scenes moments of celebration — like a youngster learning to read for the first time, a middle schooler helping a new classmate make friends, or a high school student assisting an elderly community member with yard work during Community Service Day. There isn’t a day that goes by that we are not proud of our Pointers and we know the community is, too.
Excellence does not come without hard work, dedication, caring, and vision. It also comes with a cost, and that cost is maintaining the high-quality staff we have in our district. For example, we have a remarkable seven Herb Kohl Fellows currently on staff and three Nationally Board Certified Teachers. Without our staff, we would not be able to offer the same level of attention and programs to our students.
Inflation has also hit the largest part of the district budget, which is staffing and benefits. Over the last three years, the consumer price index (CPI) has increased by a total of 16.82%. Salaries for staff members are tied to the CPI but the district budget has not been able to provide the same level of increases. In the 2022-23 school year the district paid 3% instead of 4.7%, in 2023-24 the district paid 6% instead of 8%, and finally, in 2024-25 the district will pay the 4.12% increase. If you compare that number to 2021-22, CPI raises were 1.23%. Additionally, staff have been asked to pay more out of pocket for prescriptions in the last few years in an effort to keep district costs down, and many district employees have switched to an HMO health insurance plan instead of paying the difference out of pocket to keep a Point of Service plan. We are continually evaluating our staffing levels to best serve students in an effective and efficient manner. Whenever we have a vacancy due to retirement or resignation, the Board and administration take a close look as to whether or not we need to replace that position.
Unfortunately, fewer individuals are entering the field of education as a career path, which means there are fewer candidates for open positions than we used to see even just five to ten years ago. Being able to provide a competitive salary and benefits compared to area districts is becoming increasingly more important in attracting the best staff to serve our students.
This dedication by the staff has helped increase the number of families that want their children to attend Mineral Point, and unlike many southwest Wisconsin districts, we are very fortunate to have more students enrolling, both through moving into the district and open enrolling from other schools. Increased enrollment also brings with it an increase in state aid, just not enough to keep up with the rising costs of operating the school district. Without the desire for more families to send their children to Mineral Point, we would likely be looking at an even bigger referendum dollar amount. In 2023-24, our enrollment as reported by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction was 782 students. Ten years ago, that number was 732.
Some conversations are taking place around the ESSER money each school district received during the pandemic, and why we did not keep some of that money to use later. Each school district received these federal funds in three payments, and each payment had a deadline to spend the funds. The last round of federal funding prompted the state legislature to not provide any additional funding to schools. The ESSER money was intended to address one-time expenses relating to gaps in student learning, mental health needs, and maintaining a clean environment. The legislature told schools to spend the money on ongoing expenses, like salaries, in order to balance our budgets. In Mineral Point, we tried to spend the money as wisely as we could until we did not receive any support from the legislature in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The deadline for the last round of ESSER funding is September 30, 2024. Any money not spent by that time will be returned to the federal government. There was no opportunity to save it for future financial problems.
Our last operating referendum was successful in 2018 and we continue to remain grateful for the support as our success stories since then would have been extremely difficult to achieve without it. At that time, it was projected we would need to ask for additional funding in three years in the form of another referendum. Due to some fortunate financial circumstances and strategic decisions, we have been able to extend that ask and are back six years later instead of three.
It may not make it easier to handle, but the school district is not alone in our financial situation. Mineral Point is part of CESA #3. This is a cooperative educational system throughout the entire state that helps provide services for member schools. There are 31 school districts in CESA #3, and 28 of them have either gone to referendum or will be going within a three-year window. In the Spring of 2024 alone, approximately 25% of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts went to referendum. This trend will likely continue until there is a substantial change in the state funding formula by lawmakers, which is not on the horizon at this time. The district remains committed to the responsible stewardship of every dollar with strict accountability measures, including an annual audit from Johnson Block & Co.
We greatly appreciate your time, not only in reading this column but staying engaged throughout the next few months and beyond. There will be several opportunities to learn more about our district’s financial situation, the state’s school funding formula, and what this vote on November 5 will mean for #PointerNation. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, or for more information, at mitch.wainwright@mp.k12.wi.us or 608-987-0740. We want to make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision at the polls.
It’s hard to believe but the next school year is just around the corner with classes starting September 3. We are excited about the future and look forward to celebrating our successes along with you. I believe the school is the cornerstone of our community and humbly thank you for your ongoing support of our district in many ways, along with the trust you place in us. Mineral Point is truly a special place.
Sincerely,
Mr. Mitch Wainwright
Superintendent
Mineral Point Unified School District