...is that once a year, YOU-- the residents of the Sun Prairie School District (18 yrs or more)-- get to vote on the property tax levy portion of the school district's budget. But you don't. Sadly, it's because the annual electors meeting is one of the best kept secrets in this or any other school district.
What is the annual electors meeting?
The annual electors meeting is statutorily mandated and represents the ONE crystal clear opportunity that school district residents get to determine the tax levy. Certainly, the school board gets to approve a budget, but every annual school district budget rides pretty firmly on the amount of property tax levy voted on at the annual electors meeting. If the electors vote for a lower tax levy than the district wants, then the district and school board will have to sharpen their pencils and re-work their budgeting. Sometimes when this happens, thinly veiled threats of having to cut major programs are heard.
Think the school district is spending (or budgeting) too much (like having a surplus of $1.5M last year that YOU paid for with property taxes!)? Then attend the annual elector's meeting. Sure...the school district does what it minimally must to announce the meeting. But it could do a lot more. Like publish the meeting notice for at least 6-8 weeks prior to the meeting on the website--instead of waiting for some nasty website to alert them to do so. Or perhaps sending a flyer out to all district residents. The annual electors meeting is certainly worthy of the costs for a special flyer.
Twice each month at board meetings, you get to speak your peace and have the school board either force a smile or roll their eyes at your comments before rubber stamping whatever the district wants with their votes. ONCE each year, YOU have the opportunity to take back some control over what the board and district do with your tax dollars.
But...nobody comes. Except of course for the usual suspects [ Who IS Keyser Soze?] : school board members, administrators, and many teachers and a very few residents who are keenly aware of the meeting and do what they can to have their voices heard.
What happened at this year's electors meeting?
On Monday October 13, the annual electors meeting was held at the usual place and time: high school auditorium, 7:00 PM. We get anywhere between 4000 and 8000 voters to come out for spring and fall elections, but, as is usually the case, less than 50 electors attended the meeting.
At this meeting, the electors who were present voted to:
- Freeze school board member annual 'salaries' at $3,500 (president) and $3,200 (others). This motion, interestingly enough, was made by former school board member Mary Ellen Havel Lang.
- Set the date of NEXT year's annual meeting for Monday October 12, 2009. Mark your calendars NOW.
- Voted to approve the purchase of land for the high school's home construction program, and also allow sale of the finished home. This is a great program, and, while other districts have not been so fortunate, Sun Prairie has more than covered its costs each year.
- Set the 2009 tax levy at $41,124,489 by a vote of 26 for, 11 against. This vote came after resident Rick Mealy made a motion to approve a tax levy of $40,424,489 failed by a vote of 10 to 27. Mealy's motion was based on (A) returning $500,000 of this past year's surplus to the taxpayers (instead of using it to pay down future debt) and then (B) reduce the levy by an additional $200,000 to send a message to the District that they need to curb their wasteful spending and reign in their budget in tight economic times.
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