The WI Rapids School Board approves the budget for 2025-26 school year

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WFHR / WIRI) – The Wisconsin Rapids School Board has approved the budget for the 2025-26 school year.

Superintendent Ron Rasmussen said the preliminary budget was ready in June but had to wait for the state budget to pass this summer.

“We’re about 35 to 40% funded by local tax dollars,” says Rasmussen. “And the remaining, generally from state aid, unfortunately, in the state budget this year, the state aid was flat for schools. So a little bit of that shift did flow a little bit more on local taxpayers.”

Facing a deficit

Wisconsin Rapids is getting about $95,000 less in state aid this year, according to numbers released earlier this month from the state Department of Public Instruction. It’s one of the 70 percent of school districts in the state facing a drop in state aid.

The district is additionally facing a $3.5 million deficit next year, as the referendum that passed five years ago ends. That referendum allowed the district to spend an additional $2 million per year on technology and curriculum. They will need the additional $3.5 million next year to maintain their current operation at a time when the cost of everything is increasing. Residents will get a survey in November fully explaining the district’s financial challenges.

Declining enrollment

Rasmussen says, knowing WRPS is a declining enrollment district, that they’re looking at options to make the district more efficient.

“In addition we know we’re a declining enrollment district,” explains Rasmussen. “And looking at our facilities and how we can look at possible consolidation of facilities or possibly upgrading a few facilities so we can close other facilities.”

Since 1999, the district has seen a fairly continuous decline in PreK-12 enrollment. The addition of a district-wide 4K program bumped the enrollment for two consecutive school years in the early 2000’s before continuing to decline. In the past five years, the enrollment numbers at Central Oak Academy Charter School have declined the most while WRAMs and Howe have increased slightly.

Community survey in November

The community survey explains what the impact would be for taxpayers if the district were to attempt another referendum.

“The community survey is really laying out trying to get some opinions and really planning our future for the district for the next 5, 10, 15 years,” says Rasmussen.

The survey will be sent out to every household in the district. It should arrive in mailboxes during the week of Nov. 3, and it’ll be due by Nov. 24.