APPLETON, Wis. — The Appleton Area School District Board of Education reviews strategies to overcome a structural budget deficit.
During Monday night’s regular meeting, board members were presented with a three-level list of budget priorities. Top level priorities would be maintained at current rates. They’d only be reduced if cost savings could not be achieved at the second and third budget priority levels.
Superintendent Greg Hartjes says teachers and other staff have been told the 2025-2026 budgets will be the same as last school year.
Board Member Ed Ruffalo asked what could be done to control employee health care costs.
Hartjes admits health care is the biggest challenge to dealing with structural deficit.
Hartjes says cutbacks in staff, services and classroom resources would be a last resort to trim the deficit. Those decisions would also be linked to the outcome of the referendum.
Ruffalo says if the district goes to a referendum voters need to know what’s at stake.
The structural budget deficit could range between $10.5 million and $15.5 million.
The Appleton School Board is considering putting a referendum before voters in April 2026 that would cover all or some portion of the structural deficit as well as normal operational costs.
