THE TIME HAS COME
We have an ambitious goal. That goal is to both encourage a slight change in state law to allow a few of several districts the power and autonomy to decide their own educational choices, and to establish a destination district in Caledonia, Wisconsin. After becoming a village last decade, Caledonia began becoming something more than a bedroom community between Racine and Milwauk
ee. We have a heritage of farming, love for history, equestrian values, baseball, neighborliness and low taxes. The future of our community is built upon people with children and careers that cannot be easily found in a community that lacks it's own school district. It is for these reasons that a large group of involved citizens and engaged parents have decided to pursue the creation of their own school district. GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION
Village:
Bob Bradley
Kathy Trentadue
Lee Wishau
Ed Willing
Jim Dobbs
Kevin Wanggaard
David Prott
County Executive:
James Ladwig
County Supervisor:
Robert Grove - 17
John Wisch - 15
David Cooke - 5
Janet Bernberg - 10
Mark Gleason - 13
WI Assembly:
Tom Weatherston
WI Senate:
John Lehman
SOME FACTORS AND NUMBERS:
Families are either leaving our village or leaving the district in droves. Since our last attempt at restructuring in 2008, these numbers have increased nearly 400 percent. These are real families, real homes, real tax dollars... Real children. Recent attempts by RUSD supporters to discredit our movement ignore the reality by questioning our sources while not providing anything to counter it. Their method has been lack of information. If it isn't known, it doesn't exist. Fortunately, these numbers can be verified with RUSD. Open Enrollment Numbers -
(In case the local RUSD-friendly media says we claim these are local, please let us clarify: these are district-wide.)
1998/99 - Transfer in 1 - Transfer out 11
1999/00 - Transfer in 5 - Transfer out 32
2000/01 - Transfer in 8 - Transfer out 58
2001/02 - Transfer in 10 - Transfer out 82
2002/03 - Transfer in 9 - Transfer out 130
2003/04 - Transfer in 7 - Transfer out 166
2004/05 - Transfer in 3 - Transfer out 200
2005/06 - Transfer in 6 - Transfer out 300
2006/07 - Transfer in 7 - Transfer out 343
2007/08 - Transfer in 13 - Transfer out 472
2008/09 - Transfer in 20 - Transfer out 526
2009/10 - Transfer in 21- Transfer out 650
2010/11 - Transfer in 22 - Transfer out 690
2011/12 - Transfer in 14 - Transfer out 866
2012/13 - Transfer in 24 - Transfer out 1050
2013/14 - Transfer in 35 - Transfer out 1166
2014/15 - Transfer in 28 - Transfer out 1272
These are more than a small handful, and indicate that there is a need for an alternative. Our villages have now become independent, but their growth has been stunted. Upon a split, Caledonia would gain the four schools in its boundaries, plus one 26 acre lot. Because of the assets v. liabilities equation, we would likely get a payout of $40-60 million. These numbers would be verified upon updating our 2008 WISTAX study. The only missing facility would be a high school, which could be paid for with either the windfall cash or savings from returning tax dollars to our own district. A new HS would likely cost between $65-75 million. Of our estimated 4,000+ students, approximately 40-45% seek enrollment elsewhere or homeschool, leaving nearly half the district in a place of paying education dollars they cannot directly benefit from. The creation of a new district would allow Caledonia to establish its own identity, attract families of all income levels and demographics, retain the families who have the wherewithal to move and to have a good, local, accountable school system for businesses to market for their clients and employees. WHAT'S NEXT
If we are successful in changing state law and returning the power to create a district back to the people it affects, we would likely vote for a new school district via referendum sometime in the summer or fall of 2016.
