Green Lake among school districts exceeding revenue caps for green projects

From an article by Amy Hetzner in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Voters in the Green Lake School District turned down three referendum proposals in 2010 to exceed spending limits, most recently a September request to pay for building work.

But many of the projects from that latest referendum - a new heating and ventilation system, replacing insulation and roofs as well as lights and computer monitors - are moving forward anyway, thanks to a new state law that allows school districts to exceed state-imposed revenue caps without voter approval if it's for energy efficiency projects.

"We're paying a short-term price for a long-term benefit," said Ken Bates, superintendent of the Green Lake School District, which has exceeded its revenue limits by $1.61 million over the past two years to pay for energy efficiency projects, more than any other school system in the state.

Statewide, the exception to state-imposed revenue caps that allows schools to increase their budgets for energy efficiency projects has paid for everything from solar panels and weather stripping to new boilers and air-conditioning cooling towers.

In all, officials with 46 Wisconsin school districts have spent or budgeted about $12 million on such initiatives since the 2009-'10 school year, when the new measure went into effect, according to figures reported to the state Department of Public Instruction. Of those districts, 13 have taken advantage of the exemption for both of the school years that it has been available.