Appleton residents and school families have two opportunities to get more information about the Appleton Area School District’s deficit and give input on how to address it.
The district plans to host two community meetings on the topic at the AASD Welcome Center, 2701 N. Oneida St. The meetings are open to the public, but the district asks that people planning to attend RSVP ahead of time through Google Links forms on the district website at aasd.k12.wi.us.
According to a news release from AASD, the meetings are intended to inform families, staff and taxpayers about the deficit and give them a chance to ask questions and give input about the process. The meetings are planned for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 and 7.
The district faces a structural deficit of about $13 million due to increasing costs. AASD Superintendent Greg Hartjes said that about 80% of the budget is staff salary and insurance. The rising cost of insurance, especially, has “overwhelmed” any revenue increases the district has received from the state since 2022, Hartjes said.
“We never saw this coming three years ago,” he said, back when the district had a balanced budget and extra funds.
He also said the district doesn’t control how much money it receives from the state and that many positions and services within AASD are mandatory, like support for special education students and English language learners. AASD also needs to offer enough compensation to attract qualified teachers, he added.
One option on the table is going to an operational referendum to help balance the budget, something the district hasn’t done before. Across Wisconsin, dozens of school districts, like Seymour and Shiocton, have also had to go to referendum in recent years to balance their budgets.
The last time AASD went to referendum was in 2022 to finance building projects and increase some student services. That money has to be used for those purposes and can’t be used to address the deficit.
Another option is reducing spending. At an Aug. 25 school board meeting, district representatives laid out their priorities for potential budget reductions. Hartjes said, however, that the district is committed to keeping positions that directly interact with students.
Rebecca Loroff is an education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at rloroff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton Schools to hold community meetings on $13 million deficit
Reporting by Rebecca Loroff, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
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