District overview
School District of Fort Atkinson
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is Fort Atkinson funded and governed?
The School District of Fort Atkinson in Jefferson County serves about 2,400 students in seven schools and is led by Superintendent Rob Abbott and an elected school board that meets on the third Thursday of most months. Wisconsin limits how much districts can raise through state aid and property tax, so districts ask voters to approve referendums to exceed those limits. Fort Atkinson passed a $22 million capital referendum in 2022 for buildings, and an operating referendum is expiring, leading to a $7.1 million recurring operating question on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
Operating referendum
Current referendum funding of about $6.5 million expires; the Nov. 3 question would make about $7.1 million recurring.
Tax rate
The 2026-27 school tax rate is $7.53 per $1,000, down from $8.32; about $0.86 goes to the state voucher program.
Facilities
JP Cullen was approved as construction manager for long-range planning; the middle school is a focus.
Meetings
Regular meetings are the third Thursday; the annual meeting is held in August.
This page rests on auto-generated captions; names and some figures were not verified against written documents.
Where the district stands
Stated by the superintendent in the district's podcast; result not found.
Down from $8.32 in 2025-26, per the Oct. 20 presentation (auto-captions).
National Center for Education Statistics district record.
Major projects
Long-range facilities master plan
PlanningThe board hired JP Cullen in March 2026 to support facility assessments and planning. Administrators said a building question to voters is at least two years away.
- Facilities plan and population study discussed
- Board approves JP Cullen as construction manager
Funding
Not yet identified
Cost not stated in the captions reviewed.
Recurring operating referendum
On Nov. 3 ballotA $7.1 million recurring question replaces expiring funding.
- Board referendum update
- Election
Funding
Property tax above the revenue limit, if approved
Replaces about $6.5 million expiring.
Recent news
View the news feed →Resources
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Based on 16 recordings from the district's YouTube channel: school board meetings from November 2025 to October 2026 (auto-captions) and a district podcast episode on the November referendum. The district website was not readable, so agendas and minutes were not collected.
Get alerts for School District of Fort Atkinson
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
Copy the RSS link into your feed reader to get new published alerts.