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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Beware of the trap of federal and state grant money.
The Wausau School District is about to find out what happens when the grand money runs out.
During the COVID years, Wausau received federal grants called ESSER funds, that is Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief. About $1.2-million of it was spent on hiring teachers. And now that money has run out. Those costs will now have to be covered through the tax levy.
What will happen now? The district will either lay off large numbers of teachers, or will go to the voters this fall asking for an operational referendum.
The district has hired an outside consultant to gauge the public’s mood for a referendum in November. They’ll put together a survey in May and will have results ready for review in June. What a colossal waste of money. A district that already has a $3-million budget deficit next year is wasting money on what’s already known – the public mood is a resounding ‘no’ on giving the school board more money.
How do I know this? The last referendum was for school construction. We were told there were millions of dollars of deferred maintenance of the buildings throughout the district. And we were told some schools would need more space as consolidation moved forward. A bricks-and-mortar referendum barely passed. Operational referendums, which allow a school district to live beyond their means, are almost always less popular.
Add in that the make-up of our Board of Education took a step backwards on Election Day. Two seats were won by liberals – the same crowd that made Wausau the last school district to return to in-person instruction in our area. I don’t trust the new faces. And when I don’t trust the decision-makers, I’m reluctant to give them more money.
Here’s the hard reality for our school board: if we are to consolidate to eight elementary schools, surely there will be savings in administrative and faculty cuts. Gather in all of those savings before asking me to vote to raise my own taxes. The answer right now is a resounding ‘no.’
Chris Conley
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