Yes to Kids in Dodgeville Schools

11/01/2026

🧡 Dodgeville is one of 72 Wisconsin school districts heading to referendum on November 3.

The goal? To keep our great teachers. To renew the curriculum our kids learn from. To keep the programs our kids love. And to maintain the buildings where they learn every day. To ensure our kids have a bright future.

And let's remember that this is about more than this one referendum. We can also elect state leaders who will make public education a priority in the next state budget, so the responsibility of adequately funding our schools doesn't continue falling on us as local taxpayers!

Our kids deserve great schools. Our teachers deserve competitive pay so they stay here. And our communities deserve a state that invests in public education.

Let's come together and make it happen! 🧡

Vote YES for Dodgeville Schools on Nov. 3.

10/31/2026

10/30/2026

📢 Wisconsin school funding update:

For the third year in a row, state funding for general school aids is frozen, even as costs continue to rise.

Here’s what that means:

📉 62% of Wisconsin school districts (261 of 421) will receive LESS state aid this year than last year.

📉 Dodgeville will receive $191,392 LESS in state aid this year (a 2.39% decrease).

💸 Dodgeville also paid $134,979 into the statewide private school voucher system last year. This payment is required, even though no Dodgeville students attend voucher schools.

🏫 Special education is significantly underfunded. Public schools are reimbursed for only about 38% of the cost of required special education services, while voucher schools receive 90% reimbursement. For Dodgeville, that leaves approximately $1.5 MILLION in costs that must be covered by the general fund, money that could otherwise support other educational needs.

The bottom line? Schools are being asked to do more with less, year after year. This is a state funding problem, and our kids and communities are paying the price.

💡 It doesn't have to be this way. We can elect state representatives who will work to fix the funding system. And in the meantime, we can support Dodgeville's operating referendum to help ensure our kids continue receiving the excellent education they deserve.

Our kids can't wait for the state to get it right. 🧡🧡🧡
Vote YES on Nov. 3rd

10/29/2026

Here is a strong message from a doctor at Upland Hills, with four kids in the Dodgeville schools.
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Dear Editor,

I am a local physician who grew up a Dodger. I have four kids in the district right now, and I was struggling to understand why the district needs to go to referendum for their operating budget. I spent time researching WI school funding history and our district’s situation. Please allow me to share what has brought me to the conclusion that voting no to this school referendum will only lead to greater increases in our taxes and dilute our control over this process in the future.

Since the 1990’s, there have been changes to school funding structure at the state level that continue to shift the burden of funding from the state to the individual districts. This has led to a record number of districts in WI going to operating referendums.

In 2024 alone, a record setting 241 districts in WI, about half of the public school districts in the state, voted on operating referenda (money to keep the doors open and lights on).

If half of the districts in the state are facing similar budgetary deficits, it becomes obvious this is not a Dodgeville district problem, but a systemic statewide issue.

To look at Dodgeville’s financial situation, I went to the last published 2025-26 WI Dept of Instruction data and compared mill rates of Mineral Point (8.22) and Barneveld (8.41) to Dodgeville (5.65). Dodgeville’s spending rate on schools is a full ⅓ less per $1,000 of taxable property value than the average of those two neighboring districts. Cysts to staff and programming cannot make up for this large gap in funding. We are looking at a solvency issue without additional tax revenue. Because of the current state funding structure for public schools, the only way to get additional revenue is to raise the mill rate. Until things change at the state level to keep funding in track with inflation, we must pass operating referenda. While all surrounding communities voted to keep their districts solvent in the last several years, the constituents of the Dodgeville district have repeatedly voted no to operating referenda, setting us up for failure.

Should we continue to vote no on operational spending gaps, we will eventually be forced to consolidate or dissolve our district.

Here is the part that matters: not having our own district doesn’t mean eliminating the mill rate on our property taxes. It means we will pay the mill rate for the district the children in this area are assigned to attend. Historically, which district children attend is not a choice left to its constituents, but one determined by annexing school districts and the capacity of those that surround us to absorb us. If our district has a debt, that debt will also be added to our mill rate. Essentially, anything we must borrow now to keep lights on we will have to pay later; even if it is with the consolidation or dissolution of our district. Our district’s constituents will pay higher costs and children will travel further to and from school.

In the November referendum, YES vote would bring the Dodgeville mill rate up to 6.95, which is still well below the neighboring communities of Mineral Point and Barneveld’s current rates.

And while the tax increase may feel unaffordable to many of us, a NO vote will degrade our community and lead to eventually higher mill rate hikes in which we will have much less control.

Voting YES on Nov 3rd is a vote for our children, for our community, and ultimately for our pocketbooks. This is an issue that should get all of us to the polls!

Emily Jewell
Dodgeville

References:
1. Wisconsin Policy Forum: Wisconsin sets more referenda records to fund schools, Focus #21 November 2024
2. Department of Public Instruction fiscal year 2025-2026 Equalized Levy Rates (Mill Rates) excel data sheets
3. School district reorganization informational paper #32 Legislative fiscal bureau State of WI, January 2021

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10/28/2026

Don’t have kids in Dodgeville schools? 🧡 Public education still matters to you!

We ALL depend on people who were educated somewhere: the nurses caring for our families, the electricians keeping our lights on, the farmers growing our food, the workers keeping our roads safe, and the first responders answering our calls.

We don’t stop to ask where they went to school. We just count on them being there when we need them.

Strong public schools prepare the next generation of workers, support local businesses, and help keep our community thriving.

The kids sitting in Dodgeville classrooms right now will be the adults our community will depend on tomorrow. Whether you have children in school or not, you have a stake in their future, which is also your future.

Public schools benefit everyone. That’s why it’s called public education.

Vote YES for Dodgeville Public Schools. 🧡

10/28/2026

Strong schools benefit everyone, including those without kids or grandkids currently in school. Hear it from a retiree in rural Ridgeway.

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Dear Editor,

I’m a retiree in the Dodgeville School District. I’ve got no school age grandkids, and have no connections with our local K-12 schools. So I suppose that makes me the poster “child” for those who don’t want to support kids’ education. Yet I care deeply about the wellbeing of our local public schools, and wholeheartedly support passing the upcoming Dodgeville School District operating referendum.

For years now, state funding of our public schools has not kept up with costs, and that has thrown the tax burden onto our local property tax bills. While unfair to communities like ours, this is our current reality. Neighboring Mineral Point, Barneveld, and Iowa Grant districts all have recently passed funding referendums. Now it is our turn to keep teacher salaries competitive, upgrade outdated supplies, and pay for necessary repairs.

Like many Dodgeville Chronicle readers, my public school days gave me a foundation for a productive and gratifying life. It’s time we “pay it forward” to our future contributing members of society.

On November 3, please vote yes for the Dodgeville School District referendum.

Doug Hansmann
Rural Ridgeway

10/27/2026

🧡 Vote YES for Dodgeville Schools 🧡

Let’s look back on this moment and know that when it mattered most, we came together. We stood up for our kids. We did what was right.

The future of our schools — and our community — is at stake. Across Wisconsin, rural school districts are facing the possibility of dissolution because they simply can’t make the numbers work anymore. It's not their fault and it's not our fault. But WE have a critical choice to make right now.

Let’s stand together, united for our kids! For our community! For our future!

🧡Our kids deserve a strong education and a future here. Let’s make sure they have one. 🧡

Siren, Dodgeville, Gillett and Winter school districts could all dissolve without increasing operational revenue.

10/26/2026

A fabulous Letter from a Dodgeville graduate and retired U.S. Army Officer!
"Their value of education lies in the contributions their graduates make to society."
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Dear Editor,

As a proud Dodgeville High School graduate, Class of 2000, I am deeply concerned about the future of the schools that helped shape my life. The possibility of further cuts or school closures due to inadequate funding is heartbreaking.

Our Founding Fathers understood that public education was essential to preserving democracy. Education was never intended to benefit only students, but society as a whole.

When I reflect on my education I don't think about budgets or standardized tests. I remember the teachers who helped make me who I am today.

Mr. Tank taught me that understanding history is essential to avoiding the mistakes of the past. That lesson stayed with me throughout 23 years of military service including deployments to Iraq and Ukraine. Mr. James taught me the importance of Agriculture and agribusiness helping develop my appreciation for business which eventually led to earning a business degree and becoming a small business owner. Mrs. Crum taught me to type right and communicate effectively. Those skills proved invaluable throughout my military career and remain essential to my work today. Mr. Willie taught me how science improves humanity, inspiring appreciation for knowledge that carried into my service as an EMT firefighter and hazardous materials technician.

These aren't simply teachers delivering lessons, they were mentors who helped shape my character, work ethic, and future.

Since graduating I have retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 3, earned bachelor's and master's degrees, started a business, and became a substitute teacher. Perhaps most importantly, my education taught me to give back. Through service as an American Legion Post Commander, Scout Leader, emergency responder and community volunteer I've tried to pay forward the opportunities Dodgeville provided me.

I share these experiences not for recognition, but to demonstrate the lasting return a community receives when it invests in its children.

I understand concerns about property taxes. Families deserve transparency, accountability and responsible spending. But fiscal responsibility and adequately funded schools are not mutually exclusive. Public Schools aren't businesses measured by profits. Their value lies in the opportunities they create and the contributions their graduates make to society.

I no longer live in Dodgeville, but it will always be home. I cannot imagine future generations losing the opportunity to learn from teachers like those who shaped my life. Our parents and grandparents invested in schools that helped us succeed. Now we must consider what we are leaving behind.

I support the Dodgeville School District referendum because every generation deserves the same opportunities we received. The true value of public education isn't measured by what it costs today but by what its students contribute tomorrow.

Respectfully,
Nathan Weier (Dodgeville Class of 2000)
Chief Warrant Office 3, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Small-Business Owner & Substitute Teacher

10/24/2026

Hear the message from a family whose child attends St. Joes in Dodgeville - they made a different educational choice and also recognize the importance of supporting the public schools here! We can be united for all of our kids!
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With the upcoming election and vote on the Dodgeville School District referendum, I’ve been thinking a lot about our schools and what it means to be a part of a community.

My husband and I chose to send our son to school at St. Joe’s because that is the right fit for our family. But I don’t think choosing a private school, another school district, or homeschooling means we get to stop caring about our public schools and the kids who attend them.

In a small community like Dodgeville, we are all connected. Our kids grow up together, play sports together, participate in community activities together, and eventually become the adults who make up this community. The strength of our community depends on all of us, not just on the choices we make for our own families.

I support this referendum because I don’t think we should wait until our schools are in crisis before we decide they’re worth investing in. I know the district has already made difficult decisions and reduced staffing, and I think it’s important to recognize that. At some point, continuing to cut means something has to give whether that’s programs, opportunities, class sizes, or the people who make our schools what they are. I would rather see us make a thoughtful investment in our schools now than wait until our choices become much more difficult.

We don’t only invest in the things that directly benefit us. We invest in our neighbors, our community, and our future, even when we may not personally see the immediate benefit.

Maybe that’s one of the simplest lessons of faith, too. We’re called to care for one another, not just ourselves. To give when we can. To serve our neighbors. To remember that we’re part of something bigger than our own household.

I don’t have to send my child to the public school to want it to be strong. I don’t have to make the same educational choices as another family to care about their children. And sending your child to one school or school district doesn’t have to mean wishing less for another.

I think we can make different choices for our own families while still believing that strong schools matter to all of us. Because ultimately, these are all our kids. They’re the people who will grow up here, work here, raise families here, volunteer here, and shape what Dodgeville becomes.

And I very much want to be part of a community that looks out for all of them.

That’s why I’ll be voting YES Dodgeville’s kids on November 3rd.

Amanda Berning
Dodgeville

10/23/2026

A cheery way to start your day! Look at these cuties!

Vote Yes on Nov. 3
(or vote early through next Friday, Oct 30)