Dissolution Information
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has created a website regarding the potential for dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District. Updated information on the process may be located as follows:
School District Boundary Appeal Board - Overview
School District Boundary Appeal Board Meeting Notices
Please note that these hearings/meetings are not Palmyra-Eagle Area School District (PEASD) school board meetings and that a quorum of the PEASD school board may be in attendance at one or more of these meetings and that they may participate as citizens and community members and taxpayers of the district.
January 9th Meeting
January 3rd Meeting
December 12th Meeting
December 5th Meeting
November 21st Meeting
November 14th Meeting
November 7th Meetings
November 7, 2019 - Palmyra-Eagle Area School District Dissolution Update
Please note that the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has set up a dedicated email address to accept written testimony and comments from the public to the School District Boundary Appeal Board (SDBAB) at: Email Palmyra Eagle Comments
This email address is posted to the DPI Palmyra-Eagle Dissolution webpage at: Palmyra-Eagle Dissolution. It is currently planned that the email address will be available until 12/5/19, the date of the last planned SDBAB public hearing.
As a reminder the first public hearing related to the dissolution will begin this afternoon at 3:30 PM in the high school gymnasium. The meeting/hearing schedule for today will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 PM and from 6:30 to 9:30 PM.
Official Advisory Referendum Results
“Shall the Palmyra - Eagle Area School District be Dissolved under Section 117.10 of the Wisconsin State Statues?”
Yes: ______ No: ______
November 5, 2019 Unofficial Advisory Referendum Results*
Municipality | Yes | No |
Town of Palmyra | 112 | 256 |
Village of Palmyra | 124 | 381 |
Town of Eagle | 419 | 117 |
Village of Eagle | 495 | 195 |
Town of Cold Spring | 0 | 0 |
Town of LaGrange | 27 | 21 |
Town of Ottawa | 1 | 2 |
Town of Sullivan | 41 | 110 |
Totals | 1,219 | 1,082 |
October 28, 2019 (Updated 12/20/19)
Please find shared at this time proposed/tentative meeting and hearing dates, times and locations for the School District Boundary Appeal Board to deliberate relative to the possible dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District. This information is being shared with you at this time for your review and planning purposes. The DPI link below may be used to find more updated information on the dissolution process as it becomes available.
Proposed/Tentative Schedule of DPI-School District Boundary Appeal Board Meetings and Hearings
November 7, 2019 3:30 - 5:30 PM and 6:30 - 9:30 PM Public Hearing (Thursday) Palmyra-Eagle High School Gymnasium
November 14, 2019 3:30 - 5:30 PM and 6:30 - 9:30 PM Public Hearing (Thursday) Eagle Elementary School Gymnasium
November 21, 2019 3:30 - 5:30 PM and 6:30 - 9:30 Public Hearing (Thursday) Palmyra-Eagle Middle School Gymnasium & Community Center - Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School
December 5, 2019 3:30 - 5:30 PM and 6:30 - 9:30 PM SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Thursday) Community Center - Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School
December 12, 2019 3:30 - 9:30 PM SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Thursday) Eagle Elementary School Gymnasium
Cancelled - December 19, 2019 6:30 - 9:30 PM Hold for SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Thursday) Community Center - Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School
January 3, 2020 3:30 - 9:00 PM SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Friday) Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School Gymnasium
January 9, 2020 3:30 - 9:00 PM SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Thursday) Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School Gymnasium
January 10, 2020 6:30 - 9:30 PM Hold for SDBAB Discussion/Decision on PEASD Dissolution (Friday) Community Center - Palmyra-Eagle High/Middle School
NOTE: Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has created a website regarding the potential for dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District. Updated information on the process may be located as follows:
October 24, 2019
An Advisory Referendum will be held on November 5, 2019 regarding the potential dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District. The Advisory Referendum is non-binding - it will not raise or lower taxes, nor will it ensure or deny the future of the District. The Advisory Referendum will be held as a result of petitions submitted by the voters of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District as allowed by Wis. Stats 117.10(3), and validated by the District.
All regular polling places will be open, all municipal clerks have been notified, and the election has been noticed in local publications in accordance with Wisconsin election laws. The question on the ballot will be:
Shall the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District be dissolved under Chapter 117.10 of the Wisconsin Statutes?
__Yes __No
Background on the Process
The process is governed under Wisconsin Statutes 117. All verification of submitted petitions was done by District Administrator, as delegated by School Board Clerk.
On September 6, 2019, the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District received signed Petitions for Advisory Referendum from Petitioners in response to the District’s previously approved Resolution for Dissolution of a School District.
On Tuesday, September 10, the District notified Petitioners in writing that petitions were invalid due to a lack of signature by Circulators. Petitioners were referred to Wisconsin Election Commission.
On Thursday September 12, affidavits containing signatures of Circulators were submitted by the Petitioners to the District. The District reviewed the affidavits and petitions and determined there were enough valid signatures to hold the Advisory Referendum.
The threshold for number of petition signatures required to hold an election is 10% of the electors of the 2018 Gubernatorial election. The total electors within PEASD was 4,029, meaning 403 signatures were required to meet 10%.
The petitions contained 650 valid signatures, which is in excess of the 403 signatures required.
On Friday, September 13, a Challenger filed a letter and spreadsheet challenging the signatures to the District.
On September 17, 2019, a Denial of Challenge was sent by the District to the Challenger stating that the District had determined there were sufficient valid signatures for an Advisory Referendum. The Challenger was referred to Wisconsin Election Commission.
Per Wisconsin Elections Commission Legal Counsel, the Challenger was given until September 27, 2019 to appeal the Denial of Challenge.
On Thursday September 26, 2019 a Complaint was delivered to both the District and the Wisconsin Elections Commission by a Challenger. On the same day, it was advised by the Wisconsin Elections Commission Legal Counsel that the District operate under the assumption that the Advisory Referendum shall be held to comply with the posting of various legal notices and publications.
On Monday, October 7, 2019 a letter and supporting documents as outlined in the letter were sent by Dr. Bloom to District legal counsel to be forwarded to the Wisconsin Elections Commission related to the complaint filed.
On Tuesday, October 8, 2019 a “sworn written response to complaint” executed by PEASD school board clerk Carrie Ollis was forwarded to district legal counsel to be submitted to the Wisconsin Elections Commission in response to the challenger’s appeal filed on September 26, 2019.
On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, the Wisconsin Elections Commission presented a ruling showing that the District’s analysis of the petitions, interpretation of the applicable laws, and original decision about the election were all correct. In its ruling, the Wisconsin Elections Commission did not agree with any of the alleged violations from the Complaint about the Clerk, District staff, or the process itself. The Wisconsin Elections Commission stated “The special advisory referendum election set for November 5, 2019 in the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District shall proceed as scheduled.”
At its July 1, 2019 regularly scheduled school board meeting, the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District (PEASD) school board adopted a resolution ordering the dissolution of the district. This decision came after a failed operational referendum vote on April 2, 2019, which would have provided funds sufficient to operate the district. The dissolution order will now be submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the assigned School District Boundary Appeal Board for its consideration and decision in keeping with Wisconsin state law.
The Palmyra-Eagle Area School District faces three significant issues regarding existing state funding. First, the District has a high open enrollment cost due to many resident families choosing to enroll their child(ren) in other districts. Second, the District has declining resident enrollment, leading to smaller overall classes and, in turn, less revenue. Third, the District has limited tax base growth in the commercial and industrial sectors that would distribute the tax collected to a larger pool of payors.
School districts around the state face similar issues, but none have the combination of all three at the levels PEASD does. When coupling these factors with the overall size of the District population and the failed referendum, the PEASD School Board found no realistic long-term or sustainable way to fiscally operate the district while maintaining a high level of education that its students deserve.
As previously stated, administrators and staff are currently hard at work getting ready for the upcoming year as school will be in session at PEASD for the 2019-2020 school year. It is the goal of the School Board to offer all previously offered programming in all three of our buildings. Offerings are subject to change based on enrollment and availability.
Please monitor PEASD.org and the district Facebook page for upcoming meetings regarding the dissolution proceedings.
In November, 2018, the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District School Board presented its voters with an operational referendum question for the spring 2019 election. The design of the operational referendum was to support the ongoing operations of the district itself, including academic and extra-curricular programs and general maintenance of its facilities. The public was informed that if the referendum were to fail, the District would not have enough funding to continue beyond the 2019-20 school year, and would consider dissolution of the District.
On April 2, 2019, the voters of the District went to the polls. The results of the referendum were 1473 for, 2276 against, meaning the referendum failed. On April 8, 2019, the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District School Board took the first step in the legal process of dissolution of a school district by approving a resolution considering dissolution of the school district via a 6-1 vote, in accordance with Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 117. Following advice from legal counsel and state statutes, the next step for the Board in this process will be to present and vote in July 2019 on a resolution to dissolve the District following the 2019-20 school year. At that point, the School District Boundary Appeal Board/ Department of Public Instruction will become officially involved in the process. According to statute, a final decision by the school district boundary appeal board must be made by January 15, 2020. Future steps in the process, including any public hearing dates, will be detailed and shared with the public as they are given to the District by the School District Boundary Appeal Board and/ or Department of Public Instruction. Our website will be updated as information becomes available.