Holcombe (WQOW) - In most small communities, the
school is the lifeblood. Right now, the
future of one school district is up in the air.
A referendum is on the ballot in the
Lake Holcombe School District
in April. If it fails, there are four options
the school board will consider, one of those is shutting the doors. No decision
has been made about which path to take.
First and foremost, the district is
hoping voters approve the referendum so it doesn't have to decide whether to
dissolve.
Tom Goulet, the Lake
Holcombe District Administrator, says, "We are what we call a lake district."
Depending on who you ask, the core
of the Holcombe community lies in one of two places. It's school, or its lake. "The property value is higher than in other districts because of the lake,"
says Goulet.
Property values affect how much
state aid goes to school districts. Goulet says, "The way that the
system is set up right now, we get less money than other districts who do not have a
lake."
With fewer students and less state
aid, the district is struggling to make ends meet. Because of that, one option is dissolving the
district. "Which
would mean that they would have to break the district up. That has never been
talked about before, but because of where we are in terms of where we are, it's
been put on the table,"says Goulet.
Community member, Bill
Stimeling, says, "I think it would be, probably, a real tragedy for a small
community."
The district is going to referendum
in April. "We're eating into our fund balance,
which is our total assets. And if we don't get the referendum then what will happen
is that fund balance will be eaten up," says Goulet.
The district is asking for $675,000
dollars a year, for the next three years.
Goulet says, "Anything
less than what we're asking for right now, is not going to solve the problem. I
think the thing of it is, is that there's an option out there with the
referendum to solve the problem and to make this school operate. It's just a matter of getting that idea
across and making sure everybody understands that."
If the referendum fails, there are
four options which could be considered: another
referendum, merging with another school district or program cuts. "We are at the bear
bones. To cut anymore staff people, means we have to cut programs. And the
board is not willing to cut anymore programs."
The fourth option would be shutting
down. "The district would
be broken up in such a way that it could go to all the districts around
us. We touch New Auburn, I think we
touch Bruce, we touch Ladysmith, we touch Gilman and we touch Cornell," Goulet explains.
"What
people don't understand is that you have an identity and all the sudden that
identity just kind of floats away and disappears," says Goulet.
WQOW News 18 spoke with several
members of the community Friday. One concern a local business owner and parent
expressed was the potential for people to move away, and for businesses to fail
as a result of that.
Again, no decision has been made.
April second is the spring election. In 2011,
voters rejected two referendum questions, including one for operational costs.
