The Hortonville Area School District superintendent gave the Village of Hortonville Board a yearly update on academics, enrollment and finances, saying the district serves roughly 4,400 students and employs about 700 people.

The superintendent noted the district’s performance on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction report card places Hortonville above 86% of the state’s 421 public school districts and highlighted growing youth apprenticeship participation, on-site mental-health therapy partnerships and increased community support programs such as a weekend “backpack” food program for 42 families.

The presentation said the district operates its own transportation and food-service staff — a factor that increases employee counts compared with some districts that contract those services. “We have work to do, but we’re very proud of our academic results,” the superintendent said. He also noted increases in youth apprenticeship participation and partnerships with Fox Valley Technical College and other postsecondary institutions.

The superintendent outlined the district’s recent mill-rate history and how state funding rules affect local revenue. He said the district portion of the property tax (mill rate) fell to $5.75 in 2024 from $6.60 in 2023 and was $16.04 in 1994. He added that about $0.59 of the $5.75 mill rate goes to private school vouchers and therefore does not fund the public school’s operations.

On state and federal funding, the superintendent said Hortonville receives about $1.6 million in federal funds annually, used for special education, meal reimbursements and professional development, and that roughly two-thirds of revenue comes from the state with the remainder from local taxpayers. He described Hortonville as a “low revenue district,” a designation he said stems from a 1993 law that froze spending baselines at that time; districts that had low spending in 1993 have, he said, been locked into a lower revenue category ever since. “We’re a low revenue district. We’re fiscally responsible. We’re one of the highest achieving school districts in the state of Wisconsin,” he said, urging better state support and higher special-education reimbursement rates (he said current special-education reimbursement is about 29 percent).

Trustees asked how residents and the board could help. The superintendent said the Joint Finance Committee was accepting written comments and that district testimony to the state budget committee had been circulated to other low-revenue districts and staff. He encouraged factual written submissions to the Joint Finance Committee rather than directed staff advocacy.

The superintendent closed by offering to answer questions and thanking board members for the village’s ongoing relationship with the schools and community partners.