Independence board ponders new referendum ask after request failed

When Independence School Board president Joe Bragger learned that the Independence School District’s recurring referendum failed in the election earlier this month, he admitted to feeling a bit “down in the dumps.”

The failure taught district leaders valuable lessons, though, he said at last Tuesday’s board meeting — the first since the election — and will help the district and board as they plan for a new referendum ask in the coming months.

A big change includes pivoting away from the recurring model, which gives the district the right to use the referendum for as long as it needs. Residents have shared disdain over such a referendum, and the district will now likely focus on an operational referendum over the course of a few years instead.

“We chose recurring because we were looking at long term stability and not have up and downs,” Bragger said. “Where we saw that, the community saw open checkbook. So we have to do things different if we’re going to go forward and involve people more.”

Voters rejected the $900,000 operating referendum by a 299-228 vote. This is the second straight year a district referendum failed as a $700,000 non-recurring referendum was rejected 143-129 in 2021. 

Options outside of a referendum include “drastic” cuts to the budget, which will affect programming, salaries and education quality or getting input from the public and trying for a referendum again that is not recurring. The district could also dip into its fund balance, Bragger told community members at the meeting, but that is a last straw measure.

Bragger said he thinks the district has been more frugal than it has given itself credit for, adding that early numbers indicate the district may be under its deficit by about $150,000 from the projected $380,000 deficit.

Superintendent Bärry Schmitt shared recent budget projections, saying no unexpected “major” expenses have popped up. The deficit could range between $150-250,000 at the end of this school year, Schmitt said, adding that it is projected to grow again next year even if the district doesn’t give a single salary raise or have other cost growth in insurance, gas and other areas.

The deficit is expected to be at least around $500,000 next year, Schmitt told the board.

Monica Dejno was one of about 10 residents who spoke during the referendum portion of the meeting, which lasted for two and a half hours. She enrolled her now 16-year-old son into the district two years ago and has been happy with his growth thanks to the special education department, but a recurring referendum was not something she expected.

“This school is worth fighting for, and I never thought that the referendum was a bad idea. … but that word recurring was like ‘Have you lost your mind completely,” she told the board.

Paul Franzwa, hired to take over for Schmitt as the district’s new leader starting this summer, told community members that he believes they can make the money work with a referendum. One resident suggested hurrying for a referendum at the Aug. 9 election, but Franzwa thinks August is too soon and said November is a better option to cutting programs and funding while losing students and staff.

He wants more of a social media presence as well as other documents in the next referendum to take advantage of the momentum and passion currently around the failed ask. An operational referendum should be the focus over a recurring model, he said. 

“I think we need to build upon that, we need to involve the community and then go back to referendum in November,” Franzwa said. “What that number is, I don’t know. How long? I don’t know. I do know a recurring referendum in the state that we’re in politically and financially, maybe two to three years and we need to come back to you because things are changing drastically.”

Board member Robert Guza agreed with Franzwa, saying November should be the target after watching the last referendum fail when they talked about it for two years. Doing that again in two months would be a mistake, he said. 

“We’re trying to make light of this, but we are in a serious situation,” Guza said. “If this next referendum fails, we are probably looking at dissolving or looking at options because you can’t just close a school this fall, it takes a year and a half to two years to close a school. … we need to get it right.”

A November referendum could be written with a clause making it retroactive to next year’s school budget, meaning a November passage could fix the district’s finance issue for next year despite being months into the schedule.

Franzwa told the board and community members that he has faith that they can find a solution, but it’s going to take a group effort.

“I truly believe we’re going to be OK,” he said. “I just think we have a process in front of us and we work together and we go back to the drawing board and we try to sell another November referendum.”