Lakeshore Elementary

1993

Twenty-three years ago, Bill Clinton had just been elected president, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” topped the charts, and the original Jurassic Park was in theaters. None of the students currently in Eau Claire school district classrooms were even born yet. This was also the year that the state Legislature caps the amount of revenue Wisconsin school districts can collect from property taxes.

$418

As a result of the aforementioned cap, because it was a relatively low-spending district in 1993, the Eau Claire school remains a relatively low-spending district. As of the 2015-16 school year, it spent $9,894 per student – or $418 per kid less than the state average.

$4.7 million

That difference – $418 – may not seem like much money until you consider that the school district has about 11,300 students. Multiply those two numbers together and you discover that the school district would have another $4.7 million to work with in its budget if it were merely an average-spending district. 

$5.86 million

Simply put, the Nov. 8 referendum will ask school district voters permission to collect an additional $5.86 million from taxpayers per year for 15 years. The funds will be used for debt payments as well as operating costs, which include building maintenance and teacher salaries. Without the referendum, the district faces a $2.3 million deficit in the current school year alone.

$7.92

If the referendum is approved, this would be the additional monthly property tax cost – just shy of eight bucks – for a house worth $100,000. If your house is worth $200,000, the figure would be $15.83. And, considering that the state is giving the school district a little extra aid next year, the tax increase actually will be less – closer to $3.10 per $100,000 over what you paid this year.