Cuts being considered after Sparta Area School District referendum fails

SPARTA, Wis. (WEAU) - On Tuesday, April 7th, an operational referendum from the Sparta Area School District failed to pass by about 250 votes.

The referendum would’ve been $1.8 million per year for the next 3 years, compared to the $750,000 annual referendum currently in place.

Sparta Superintendent Sam Russ says the school board and administration will now have to see if they will be forced into cutting co-curricular opportunities.

“In the last four years, we have tried our best not to have any changes to the student experience. We’re proud that we’ve had less changes to the students’ experience overall. Our class sizes have increased, but now the board is going to have to see if do we get the feedback from the community about what our next steps are, do we look to increase revenue in areas, or do we reduce expenditures,” says Russ.
Russ adds that due to the school already having to cut $3 million in the past four years, along with declining enrollment, some hard decisions may also have to be made regarding staffing.

“We’re coming to a point where seventy percent of our budget is staffing, but we’ve been reducing a lot of staff over the past four years. It comes to a point where we have to look other places, and we try to be efficient as much as possible, but it really gets to that student experience. That includes transportation and co-curricular opportunities,” says Russ.

As the school continues to make choices after the vote, administration is encouraging community members to be involved and share their opinions.

“Come to the board meetings. Come to the committee meetings. If they’re parents, be involved in their child’s educational experience. Have that positive communication and collaboration. It’s really about telling us some areas because some difficult choices are going to have to be made,” says Russ.

Sparta Board of Education meetings are generally held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.

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