Polling, Long Range Facilities Plan Released as Board Considers Fall Referenda

As the MMSD Board of Education considers possible referenda on the November ballot, two additional reports were shared to inform their upcoming decision. At a special meeting held Monday, May 6, 2024, the Board heard results from a poll commissioned by the Madison Public Schools Foundation, and administration shared the district’s Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP).

The poll commissioned by the Foundation, and conducted by Impact Research, showed that voters, overall, are happy with the quality of education provided by MMSD. And voters with children in public school were the most satisfied with the quality of education. “The attitudes of voters in Madison are in general pretty favorable to the district,” said Luke Martin, Vice President at Impact Research. 

According to poll results, a plurality of voters are satisfied with the way MMSD spends their tax dollars, including a majority of homeowners and higher-income households. Around two-thirds of voters are generally supportive of increasing funding for MMDS, and strong support outweighs opposition.

“People clearly appreciate the quality of education that [students] are receiving in Madison, they’re satisfied with how the district does its job,” Martin said. “I think, as a result, there is a good amount of willingness and appetite to increase funding for Madison public schools.”

Transitioning to the LRFP, this plan details enrollment projections and facility conditions. It also includes six recommendations to guide future planning and facilities investments. Board Policy 1535 requires that the Board of Education approve a long range facilities plan minimally every three years. The last plan, completed during the 2019-2020 school year, set the stage for the 2020 referendum. 

While the district has experienced a decrease in elementary enrollment, due in part to declining birth rates, City of Madison projections indicate there may be more than 100,000 new Madisonians over the next 25 years. This anticipated population increase requires ongoing investment in our schools. “We can’t stop not focusing on facility improvements,” said Bob Soldner, Assistant Superintendent of Financial Services.

As the oldest district in Dane County, MMSD’s average facility age is over 60 years old. Many of the district’s buildings have critical needs. The Facilities Condition Report, released last November, details the age and needs of each building. Forty schools received a composite “grade” of C or D, with an estimated investment to bring all MMSD buildings to excellent condition around $1 billion dollars.

These factors underscore that the total capital needs are greater than any single referendum, or the district’s annual operating budget can reasonably address. Prioritization of future facilities improvements with an equity lens is critical. Further, operating needs must be planned in conjunction with capital (facility) needs. 

Based on these factors, the LRFP recommends 14 schools for facilities improvements. Combined schools, like Shabazz High School and Sherman Middle School, are counted as individual facilities. “In 2020, [after our high school renovations] we said taking a look at the middle schools was next on the list,” Soldner said. “Based on the facility condition report, we have some middle schools as well as some combined middle and elementary schools that, based on the facility condition report, are really high improvement needs. In addition, we also have priority critical needs elementary schools.”

The 14 schools listed in the LRFP include:

Soldner expressed that the financial plan to support this work must be a comprehensive, integrated, long-term solution structured based on future tax base growth. “It really becomes how much do you feel we can put on a referendum. [Another] factor again goes back to the student enrollment. We are going to need our middle schools no matter where the demographics of our district are shifting.”

After Board members listened to the updates, Board Clerk Nicki Vander Muelen reflected on the 2020 referendum. “Thank you to the taxpayers and especially those who work for us at MMSD,” she said. “We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you again to every single person who voted for the referendum, or we wouldn’t be here.”