Operational Referendum 2024

Click here for the Operational Referendum FAQs.

School Programs and Referendum Impacts

Reading, writing, and math are at the heart of a strong foundation in education. Greendale Schools does so much more, and that is why new families report, “We moved here for the Schools”. In community surveys, Greendale residents understand their property values are impacted by the quality and experience in the schools. In 2018, 75% of residents responding to a survey indicated that Greendale Schools positively impacts their home value.

Click on the highlighted Key Informational Items to learn more about the district's programs, financial needs, and impacts of an operational referendum on the schools and community.

1. The District is investing in meeting the needs of all students.  

2. Investment in the academic recovery of our students is having an impact on student performance.  

3. The State limits what local school districts can spend per student and the increase to spendable revenues in school funding since 2009 is not keeping pace with inflation.  

4. Impact of the quality of educational programming on the property values in our community.

5. Through the management of the debt levy, an operational referendum of $2,500,000 can be approved while maintaining a similar projected school tax levy to the current $15.4 million levy.   

6. If a referendum is approved to sustain programming, the District will need to continue to be efficient with resources to balance the budget in future years.

Ballot Question

The question below is how the Operational Referendum question will appear on the ballot for the Spring Election on April 2, 2024:

Shall the Greendale School District, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $2,500,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year and ending with the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational and maintenance expenses?

What does the Operational Referendum Question Mean?

State law regulates how schools are funded. Tax levy amounts are determined using a complex formula and how much a school district can levy for operations is determined based on the revenue limit set by the state.

In 2007 and 2018, Greendale Taxpayers gave the district permission, through a building referendum vote, to borrow money for improvements at the high school (2007) and in all Greendale school buildings (2018). For the past few years, the district has been prepaying on those loans.

The Operational Referendum on the April 2, 2024 Ballot is asking taxpayers for the authority to shift the prepayment money to pay for district operations. The district needs taxpayer permission to take the money it has been using to make additional payments to the loans and use it for operations. The district projects the tax increase will be under 1 percent.