By Eileen Persike
Editor

Oneida County voters will have two referendum questions on their April 6 Spring Election ballots – both having to do with increasing funding to the county Highway Department.

The first question is a binding referendum on raising the tax levy by $500,000 each of the next 10 years to fund road and bridge construction projects. Oneida County Public Works Committee chair Ted Cushing explained in a memorandum to town boards that if approved, the result will be a property tax increase of approximately $6.50 per $100,000 of valuation for the 2022 budget. Subsequent years’ increases cannot be determined at this point.

The second question is an advisory referendum asking voters whether the county should cut $500,000 of county programs and services from the 2022 budget and apply it instead to the county highway road and bridge construction budget. It is advisory only, and “does not require the county board to take action in conformity with the referendum results,” according to Cushing’s memorandum.

Just which programs and services would be cut has not been stated.

“We have done studies at the county on various programs, and they’ve been ranked, but we don’t have a specific answer for you on what services would be cut,” Cushing told WXPR.

Oneida County maintains just over 172 miles of highway that require reconstruction every 20 years, or about 8.6 miles per year. According to the county, construction costs per mile have increased dramatically over the last 16 years, from $76,000 in 2005 to $200,000 today. The highway department budget has not increased to keep pace with the costs, so the number of miles per year has been reduced.

“Implementing best maintenance practices, the highway department can help extend the expected road life from 20 to 25 years helping make up some of the difference but not all,” Cushing states in the memorandum. The highway department has been relying on additional funding through the county’s Capital Improvement Program, but, the memo concludes, raising the tax levy as proposed would provide the additional funding needed.

Newbold asks for construction input

An advisory question on town of Newbold ballots will ask whether the town should borrow $4.1 million to reconstruct the town hall and construct a new town shop.
The plans include making the town hall ADA compliant, creating secure offices, essential meeting spaces, a new toilet room, kitchen and vestibule. The existing town shop would be upgraded to remain as cold storage, and a new updated shop would be built. If the project goes ahead, cost to taxpayers would be $51.29 per year for 20 years on a $100,000 home.

For more information on the election, including what is on the ballot and where and how to vote, visit vote411.org.

Rhinelander School Board

Voters in the School District of Rhinelander will be electing three members to the board of education. Two incumbents, Ron Counter and David Holperin, are seeking reelection. Two-term board member Ann Munninghoff Eshelman is not running for another term. Two write-in candidates, Benjamin Roskoskey and Ben Gauthier are vying for that vacant seat.

The Star Journal asked all four candidates two questions; their responses are below, listed alphabetically by candidate.

Ron Counter (Incumbent)

Why should voters elect you?
I request your support for another term on the Rhinelander School Board. My many years of service in the past have served the district well and feel my experience and leadership will be needed over the next three years. The district is involved in numerous projects including development of a comprehensive strategic plan improving the performance of our students and the district as a whole. Improvement of the district’s infrastructure, including building, energy and computer upgrades; the recruitment of new teachers and retention of the excellent staff that are now employed by the district. I believe my leadership and experience will be an asset to achieve success.

What do you think are the top three priorities for the School District of Rhinelander?
1. Development of a strategic plan, supporting curriculum and programming that will assure the immediate and future success of Rhinelander’s students. The plan should also elevate Rhinelander to become a highly rated school.
2. Recruit and retain excellent staff. The strategic plan will not be successful unless we maintain a staff that is in the top of their profession and want to remain a member of our community.
3. Improvement of infrastructure to serve our students and community into the future.
I thank you for your support to myself and the School District of Rhinelander.

Ben Gauthier (Write in)

Why should voters elect you?
As a lifelong Rhinelander resident and a 2005 graduate of RHS, I believe that I have a connection to the community that will greatly serve the board when it comes to making decisions about the future plans of the Rhinelander School District. I also believe that being married to an educator for the last ten years provides me with another distinct insight into the needs of our teachers, and I can bring that prospective to the board as well. Finally, having served in the Army, and in my current position working with the federal government, I understand the strains that budget restrictions can place on organizations and I believe through these experiences I can help come up with creative solutions to help in this area.

What do you think are the top three priorities for the School District of Rhinelander?
The second top priority of the School District of Rhinelander should be being good stewards of the community’s investment in the district. I believe that this can be done through better communication with the district on where their dollars are being spent and why they are being spent there. The final priority of the School District of Rhinelander should be creating a learning environment in Rhinelander that attracts people to the area. I believe in order for Rhinelander to be successful for generations to come we must make the SDR a destination school district where people from all over the Northwoods and Wisconsin want to send their students to learn.

David Holperin (Incumbent)

Why should voters elect you?
The school district of Rhinelander has made great strides over the past decade. School administrators and the professional staff deserve most of the credit, but the school board provides the template from which to grow from. My background is business while others are from the public sector and former educators, so it’s a good mix. Our district has over 250 employees, a near $33 million annual budget, facilities, sub-contractors, and a diverse tax-paying public. Education is a service, but it is also a business, the business of education. I have worked for large corporations and started successful businesses. My primary position is “Financial Advisor” and as such I analyze publically-traded businesses. I understand what makes a business successful. An important element is to work from a well-defined long-term strategic plan. I have promoted the importance of a strategic plan since elected and will continue to push the setting reasonable goals while holding all employees accountable for their contributions to our success. We must be fiscally responsible with what we get in funding, and that means that every dollar spent must be done with a purpose of fulfilling our mission while achieving an efficient positive outcome.

What do you think are the top three priorities for the School District of Rhinelander?
We actually have five top priorities in our long-term strategic plan. We want to provide the highest quality of educational services possible, backed up by data and accountability. One component is to increase our graduation rates while providing our graduates with as many tools and talent as possible for their future endeavors. A second goal, hiring the very best educators, employees, and para-professionals possible. We have a leader of Human Resources (HR) to accomplish that. Third, maintain and improve all of our facilities as needed. Fourth, be the best financial stewards for what we receive from our various funding sources. The state formula for distributing funds hasn’t always worked in our favor, but our past and current business managers have done a remarkable job with our budgets, accounts, and procurement processes. Lastly, continue to remain open and transparent with all stakeholders through broad communications and our newest Superintendent, Eric Burke, has taken this responsibility to a new level via his weekly electronic communications and overall accessibility. If we continue to do all of the above successfully, we will continue to grow as a district, we will continue to gain higher ratings as compared to surrounding districts, and we will continue to attract more students and better educators.

Benjamin Roskoskey (Write in)

Why should voters elect you?
During my previous time on the school board, I showed a willingness to work with my fellow board members and to openly communicate with the public; on numerous occasions fielding calls at my house or meeting with concerned citizens in person. I believe that I will be able to best represent the students, parents, and taxpayers in the district, specifically as the parent of two young daughters who will be directly impacted by the decisions that we will make as a board. I will also take the lessons I learned during my 2020 Afghanistan deployment and apply to the district, encouraging people to not just approach me with problems but also potential solutions to those problems.

What do you think are the top three priorities for the School District of Rhinelander?
I believe that the top three priorities are: accountability through transparency, financial stability, and workforce preparation.

Accountability through Transparency: It is the responsibility of the school board to be honest and open with the public about the budget and future expenditure plans, especially as operating referendums become more common. We need to ensure that we thoroughly explain the ‘why’ behind the decisions that we make, and we need to understand the ramifications of our decisions.

Financial Stability: I am not opposed to the need of holding operational referendums. I believe that they are a good means of community oversight over the school district. If the district is open with its needs and plans and makes wise financial decisions, the community will continue to approve referendums. I also support the separating of construction/additional projects from operational referendums to give the taxpayers more oversight of the district’s finances.

Workforce Preparation: I believe that we need to continue to reach out to businesses and industries to create strong partnerships for students entering the workforce. We have been doing a good job with the building trades program and the fabrication laboratory, but we should continue to focus on practical job skills and preparing the next generation for jobs in the trades. We shouldn’t focus on improving our state testing scores solely for improvement’s sake. Teaching for the test only creates students who are good at taking tests; it doesn’t prepare them to apply their knowledge and critical-thinking skills in their future careers.