Rushing towards Number 2

A $100M referendum.
That would put Sun Prairie #2 all-time behind only Milwaukee and their beyond belief $366M failed attempt in 1993. If this passes, we would have the top spot secured for successful referenda. The next in line is the New Richmond School District which passed (!) a $92M referendum this past April.

These are FACTS; check out the data on the DPI website:

https://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/safr/all_referenda.asp

If we pass a $100M referendum, we would also rocket to the #2 slot on another chart- the
DPI District Long-Term Debt report. As of June 30, 2006 we had a total debt of $74.1M + $14.7M for elementary #7 for a total of $88.8M. Add $100M and we more than double our long-term debt to just under $190M. Second only to....guess who....Milwaukee at $389M.

These are also FACTS; check out the data on the DPI website:

http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sfs/doc/debtmax4.doc

The school board and Tim Culver will tell you that a debt of $190M isn't bad, because state law allows us to borrow up to $356M. Great. I know a few banks that will loan you more money than you can afford...to help you buy a new house. What one can afford according to formulas does not equate to what one can afford based on a reasonable budget.

The school board also says that this new $100M project will make our schools "the envy of every district across the state". Do we want other to envy our schools? Or the education we provide our kids and how we prepare them for life beyond high school? $100M schools don't improve achievement scores, and they certainly don't address the achievement gap. Shouldn't we consider spending less money on bricks and mortar and more towards educating the kids underneath those mortarboards?

Is this too much number 2 for you?