School Board Schedules Referendum Listening Sessions

The Ripon Board of Education has scheduled four community Listening Sessions to gather feedback on three referendum suggestions that have been made for the April 7 election. Board members and administrators will provide information, answer questions, and collect feedback during these listening sessions. A decision about any referendum questions will be made by the Board at its January 19 meeting. The listening sessions are scheduled for the following dates and places:
* Tuesday, January 6, at 6:30 p.m. in RHS room 167
* Thursday, January 8, at 10:00 a.m. at the Ripon Public Library
* Wednesday, January 14, at 1:30 p.m. at the Ripon Public Library
* Thursday, January 15, at 6:30 p.m. in RHS room 167

Three referendum questions have been suggested for the April 7 election and are now being discussed.
Question 1: $500,000 bond for replacing the RHS boiler and roof maintenance at various schools;
Question 2: $500,000 annual revenue limit override to be used for purchasing textbooks, computers & technology, maintenance repairs and vehicle replacements that have been eliminated from the budget;
Question 3: $500,000 annual revenue limit override for five years to maintain current staffing and class size levels.
By taking advantage of lower interest rates to refinance current District debt, the cost to taxpayers of the suggested referendum questions is considerably less. If approved by the voters, Question 1 and 2 would likely add 8 cents to the school mill rate, or $8.00 for a home with an equalized value of $100,000. If all three referendum questions were approved, it would likely add 83 cents to the mill rate the first year and 55.5 cents in the second year and thereafter. For a $100,000 home, the passage of all three referendum questions would translate to $83.00 for 2009 and $55.50 in 2010 and succeeding years.
“These referendum questions deal with critical maintenance for our schools and critical instructional components for our students,” said Superintendent Richard Zimman. “The state’s revenue limits law has forced us to cut items like textbooks from our budget, and is now threatening to increase our class sizes with staff reductions. This referendum is just trying to preserve what we have now and regain some of the previously cut items.”

Right now, I can see myself voting for Questions 1 and 2, but #3 may be a hard sell in light of the recent economic news locally and nationally. Either way, I hope the turnout for these meetings is HUGE.