2022 Referendum

Future Needs Advisory Committee
The Future Needs Advisory Committee was created in 2019 and included parents, students, community members, school staff, and administrators. All meetings were open for the public to attend and observe. 

In the spring of 2020, the District’s Leadership Team and Board of Education followed up on the work of the Future Needs Advisory Committee by further planning for a potential referendum. However, when the pandemic struck in March of 2020, the Board and Leadership Team put all plans for a potential referendum on hold.

At the Board of Education meeting on November 22, 2021 board members supported the timeline for planning to resume for a potential referendum in November of 2022.  

Focus Group Meetings
Meetings were held in December 2021 through January 2022 to gather input from staff, parents, and community members on a potential referendum. All meetings were open for the public to attend and observe. 

Outcome of Focus Groups
The input gathered during these five meetings was overwhelmingly positive in support of the district going to referendum to fund:

• facility improvements in all schools
• construction of a new elementary school in the fast growing northeast portion of our distinct
• moving 6th grade students from the elementary school level to the middle school level
• adding staffing to allow for the reduction of class sizes from an average of 25 to an average of 20 in grades Kindergarten through second
• consolidating and/or moving schools to improve the quality of education for students and to function more efficiently 

Find agendas, presentations, and minutes from all meetings below:

Community Survey

In early April 2022, all 44,000 households in the Appleton Area School District were mailed a survey and an online version was emailed to AASD families and staff from School Perceptions, an independent educational research firm. 

The purpose of the survey was to gather feedback from the community on the following eight questions:

1. Would you support a capital referendum to build a new elementary school as described in this survey?
2. Would you support a capital referendum to update the elementary schools as described in this survey?
3. Would you support a capital referendum to update the middle school as described in this survey?
4. Would you support a capital referendum to update the high schools as described in this survey?
5. Would you support an operational referendum to expand STEM instruction?
6. Would you support an operational referendum to provide smaller class sizes at the kindergarten through the 2nd  grade level? 
7. Would you support an operational referendum to operate new spaces and/or buildings?
8. Would you support both capital and operational referendum questions to fund the recommended plan as described in this survey?

Appleton School District Community Survey Report - Spring 2022

Summer 2022
At the August 8, 2022 Board meeting, resolutions were passed to include two referendum questions on the November 8th election ballot.

Revised Financial Impact (October 18, 2022)

Appleton-area voters supported both the operating referendum AND capital referendum. The estimated increase to the school portion of your local property taxes is $0.04, or $4 for each $100,000 of a home’s value.



Are you interested in a longer, more thorough breakdown of the revised financial impact of the referendum? Check out this longer explainer here.

View Our Playlist of Referendum Informational Videos

Capital Referendum

The approved operational referendum provided increased annual funding of $129.8 million to pay for:

Elementary Schools

• Build Sandy Slope Elementary School to accommodate enrollment growth on the north side, allowing for reduction of Kindergarten-2nd grade class sizes district-wide, and helping to facilitate the transition of 6th grade to our middle schools 
• Complete individualized projects at each elementary school to create dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) classrooms, improve security as needed, and update available spaces 

Middle Schools

• Modernize our four middle schools, add capacity to allow for 6th grade to move into our middle schools, and update Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) areas 

High Schools

• Build additions and complete renovations at our three high schools 

Operational Referendum

The approved operational referendum provided increased annual funding of $5 million to pay for:

• STEM staffing, which will include twelve elementary teachers and four middle school paraprofessionals
• Kindergarten-2nd-grade class size reduction to reduce average class sizes from 25 to 1 to 20 to 1 
• Staffing and ongoing utility, cleaning, and maintenance costs for new spaces