(Horicon) On the upcoming April ballot, the Horicon School District will have a referendum asking residents if they can exceed the revenue spending cap to continue making school improvements. Superintendent Rich Appel says the reason for exceeding is because of the capped amount that can be spent per student.
“In Horicon, we’ve traditionally been a very conservative, very low, spending district.” Appel says. “So, we, per student, our revenue limit is at $10,005.”
Looking across the board, Appel says that Beaver Dam spends $10,026 dollars per student, Hustisford $10,071 dollars, and the state average being just short of $11,000 dollars at $10,900. Special education costs are another area the referendum would address. Director of Student Learning and Special Education Katie Schwartz says those costs are similar across the state.
“It costs more to educate students with special education needs,” says Schwartz. “We are provided with federal and additional state funding that does support the special education costs. Currently, we’re at about 27-28-percent of our total costs are covered by federal and state funding.”
If the referendum passes, it will allow the school district to hire more staff including math interventionalists, mental health supports, a middle school counselor, additional teachers, and additional school psychologists.
