Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

The Rock County Civics Academy presents, “School district funding: real-world realities in your community,” a community Q&A with two area superintendents about their districts’ upcoming funding referendums.

Janesville School Superintendent Mark Holzman and Milton Superintendent Rich Dahman will discuss each district’s referendum questions appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot. 

The forum will begin at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 at the Janesville Performing Arts Center and is free and open to the public.

The Janesville School District is asking voters to approve two questions.

The first is a non-recurring $14.5 million request for operations. The second is for $151.8 million to pay for capital improvements across the district. 

The Milton School District is asking voters to approve $5 million on a recurring basis to support operations. 

This is a unique opportunity for direct engagement and to get your questions answered.

The referendums are a product of the persistent challenge of maintaining balanced budgets and quality education amidst insufficient state funding.

We have seen requests before to exceed levy limits, and they will persist statewide until the state’s educational funding formula is revised. 

The discussion with the superintendents will address justifications for the requests as well as possible long term solutions requiring policy changes at the state level.  

This is your opportunity to ask both superintendents questions about the referendums and sift through the plethora of information sources available.

Come early for an opportunity to interact with our educational leaders. Equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to make an informed vote in the upcoming general election.

Be informed and assume a critical role in your community with the help of the Rock County Civics Academy’s work to reveal the complete narrative and the policymakers behind it.

Become informed, get involved and drive change in your community.