By Kim McDarison
Approximately 25 area residents arrived Friday, May 5, at the Fort Atkinson High School auditorium to share school funding concerns with State Rep. Scott Johnson.
Johnson organized the listening session, according to a recent news release, to talk about school funding “in the wake of school referendum failure.”
An $8 million operational referendum placed by the School District of Fort Atkinson Board of Eduction on the ballot in April did not meet with voter approval. Following the election, and in response to an operational funding shortfall, the board voted to send preliminary notices of nonrenewal to 16 of the district’s certified staff.
According to Lukas Baker, a spokesperson in Johnson’s Madison office, the majority of residents attended the listening session in Fort Atkinson staying to talk with the representative for more than an hour.
Responding to questions in a recent telephone interview, Baker said that those in attendance at last Friday’s listening session asked questions and offered concerns, noting that a common theme was “the fact that they don’t want to keep on voting for referendums in the future. They want to know that more money will come for education so they don’t have to keep having referendums that are passing or failing, and seeing their property taxes go up.”
Baker said a School District of Fort Atkinson teacher, who was among those receiving a preliminary notice of nonrenewal, shared “her story” with the representative. Baker described her comments as “very touching and very real.”
According to Baker, some attendees asked about a timeline, looking to learn when local school districts would learn from the state about additional funding, and, more specifically, how much additional funding would be received.
“We don’t have an answer to that right now,” Baker said, adding that the State Legislative Joint Committee on Finance was “going through the process.
“We are at the beginning stages of the (state) budget. We have 50 days to fully reconstruct and assemble a new budget package for the state,” Baker said, adding that Johnson is committed to eduction, and, he said, he will “push every day for more funds to be put into the education side of the budget.”
Baker said members of the Legislature hope to have the state budget wrapped up in July.
Of the recent listening session, he said: “I think it was a very productive and cordial event. People wanted to know what they can do to help Scott (Johnson) to be successful in his efforts to get more money for the (Assembly) district.”
Sharing the representative’s takeaways, Baker said: “I think he walked away with people believing that he is fully invested in fighting for children’s eduction and fighting for the (33rd Assembly) district.”
Johnson is known in the Fort Atkinson community, Baker said, noting his time served as a school bus driver and school board member.
“This is an important issue for him. He left knowing it’s a tough issue — education is not the only thing that needs to be funded, so tough decisions will have to be made, but, in the end, he will fight for more funding for the district. And by district, I mean within the 33rd Assembly District and school districts across the state,” Baker said.
The 33rd Assembly District, represented by Scott Johnson, R-Jefferson, includes the communities, in part or full, of Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Milton, Helenville, Hebron, Sullivan, Oakland and Palmyra. A portion of the city of Whitewater, which resides in Jefferson County, also is included.
Two photos above: State Rep. Scott Johnson, standing near the stage, interacts with some 25 residents who gathered last Friday at the Fort Atkinson High School auditorium. Johnson represents Wisconsin’s 33rd Assembly district. He scheduled the listening session, according to a recent press release, to learn from constituents their thoughts about school financing. Contributed photos.
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