The Core Findings Voters Should Know

1) Governance Breakdown Isn’t “One Incident” — It’s Systemic

Multi-year: The Task Force’s xCore Report frames current conditions as a multi-year breakdown in academic, financial, and administrative governance—with calls for an immediate course correction. 

Whistleblowers: xCore Part II cites 21+ whistleblower accounts (updated by year-end to well over 80+), alleged retaliation/silencing dynamics, leadership instability, and broader districtwide harm—along with formal escalation to outside oversight bodies.

Power Grab: The 2030 document a consistent pattern of shifting power away from the board to the superintendent (administrative capture), such as sole discretion over the buying and selling of facilities and land, including unseemly Policy 9130, which in effect concentrates oversight of the superintendent in the hands of the superintendent himself.

2) Outcomes: Marketing vs. Performance (and Equity Gaps That Persist)

Deeply inconsistent performance: The Task Force argues the district’s headline DPI score is marketed well, but masks wide variance—“a long tail” of schools in the 50–60 range—while high performers elevate the average.

Structural Inequity: The Task Force highlights an equity pattern it characterizes as structural and persistent (including a reported ~70% correlation between economic disadvantage and outcomes in Wauwatosa vs. ~30% statewide, plus a large school-to-school spread). 

Students simply aren’t being educated: In public engagement around math pathways, the Task Force reports an admission that around four in ten students are not meeting math standards. This is also true of reading. (K-12, Wauwatosa School District - 2024-2025 DPI Report Card)

3) Staff Stability and Trust Have Been Damaged

Instability: Leadership in virtually every school has been marked by instability since Demond Means took the office of superintendent. Turnover of principals has been widespread - nearly every school has gone through at least one or more principals. This has occurred at a rate more than double that of the prior 15-year period. (xCore Report)

Compact failure: The Task Force documents a $4.2M budget error was effectively pushed onto staff via benefit costs, wiping out much of the promised “12% raise” for many educators and worsening morale—described as a “teacher compact” failure. 

Reports of intimidation: There were recent reports from teachers on the union negotiating team of post-settlement classroom intimidation by the superintendent. (Ledger XVIII)

4) Financial Stewardship and Long-Range Fiscal Risk

Overspend / Spending away from the classroom: In a public July 2025 briefing, the Task Force cites: ongoing overspending, a reported structural deficit, and advancing major facilities planning without what it views as adequate corrective action and transparency. While elementary school budgets were slashed this year (all but one), the superintendent's and the chief academic officer’s budgets went up nearly 100% (doubled). This is characteristic of a central adminstration that has nearly two times the staff as nearby Elmbrook and serves about the same size student population. (DPI)

Audit Problems: The 2022 independent audit conducted by CLA that uncovered serious deficiencies in procurement oversight, internal controls, and policy compliance, a red flag indicator of the massive financial problems that emerged in 2024 blamed on the CFO, who was then terminated. The board not only failed to amend the budget in that year, but was also not reviewing financials monthly. (xCore Report)

Risk of Insolvency: In a June 2025 news release, the Task Force references district CFO statements projecting a $23M annual deficit by 2030 absent major reforms, and argues this creates meaningful taxpayer and state-level exposure. FY 2024-2025, the year of the $4.2 million budget error, was marked by an $8.2 million structural deficit, and by FY2025-2026 CFO Ecker updated his projection to $18M by 2029. The district so far has been unable to course correct, at the same time doubling down on a massive capital expansion plan - the largest in district history - to spend upwards of $457 million for middle and high school reconstruction. Wauwatosa has pursued exceptionally large referendum requests relative to district size—most recently the paired 2024 requests totaling $124.4M, including $16.1M per year in operating authority through 2028–29. The $64.4 million dollar operating referendum was the first in district history. Based on district projections, the 2030 Task Force forecasts a need for another operating referendum by 2028 north of $100M to stave off district insolvency. Credit analysts commonly penalize issuers that rely on repeated operating referendums and persistent structural deficits; that risk can raise borrowing costs and further constrain district finances. Insolvency in 2028-29 would be disastrous to the Wauwatosa community, potentially driving sudden and deep cuts to programs and services, require state intervention and could even severely impact home values.

Tax Impact Voters Are Feeling (And Why It Jumped)

Voters need to understand that the Wauwatosa School District holds the “power of the purse” without city or state oversight. The district can levy taxes through referendum. These are ballot initiatives to raise money to fund the operations of the district when they can’t spend within budgetary constraints (operating referenda) or to conduct capital spending, such as spending on buildings and other facilities (capital referenda). The district plans to float another capital referendum in November 2026. Based on current facilities planning, it could exceed $450 million, the largest in district history, and among the largest school facilities referendum proposals Wisconsin has seen in recent years. The only thing that can check district spending is a vote “no" on referenda, or a change in the board majority (at least four seats) that stops referendum proposals before they can get placed on the ballot in the first place. This is why the April 2026 election is so important. If the 2030 Slate is voted into office, the slate can stop runaway spending on Day 1. This doesn’t mean no to any referenda ever - periodically communities need to reinvest in their schools. It simply means that we stop to make sure that before anything is brought forward: 1) money is being spent wisely; 2) any new proposal is affordable to taxpayers; and 3) meaningfully improves student outcomes. Since last Fall, any affordable options have been removed from consideration.

What Changed In 2025

2025 tax bills were the first year the 2024 school referendums went into effect, and the city noted each bill showed a referendum line item so taxpayers can see the exact amount attributable to it. (Wauwatosa)

The citywide revaluation materially increased assessed values (the city’s revaluation calculator cites an average assessment increase of 44.7%). (Wauwatosa City Assessor)

Local media also reported “on average” assessment increases above 50% (FOX6 cites ~54% average in its coverage). (FOX6 News Milwaukee)

Why July Estimates Understated What Some Saw in December

The city’s calculator explicitly warns it is an estimate and “may not reflect final billing.” (Wauwatosa City Assessor)

In July, the Task Force was warning of affordability stress and cited examples around ~20–30% tax increases on a “typical home” scenario.

When December bills arrived, local reporting found many residents facing bills thousands of dollars higher than expected. (TMJ4 News)

A Wisconsin Public Radio story includes a Wauwatosa homeowner up $2,400 and describing the increase as “not quite 50 percent.” (WPR)

Many households experienced tax-bill shock. In community channels, residents reported increases commonly in the 30%+ range; local media documented increases of thousands of dollars and in some cases near 50%. (TMJ4 News)

What “Fixing It” Looks Like on the School Board

• Restore an independent board that has true oversight of the superintendent and provides "Real Stewardship Tosans Can Trust".

• Affordability-first facilities planning: require an option-complete plan (including repair/status-quo variants) with transparent trade-offs and price tags, before advancing a $350M - $457M+ direction. 

• Independent financial accountability: conduct a forensic audit to verify and reestablish tighter controls before asking taxpayers for more.

• Outcomes-first academics: publish simple, measurable targets (reading/math proficiency; school-by-school improvement), and replicate what works rather than layering new initiatives without proof. 

• Restore a culture where staff can speak up safely: treat whistleblower claims seriously, protect due process, and insist on transparent governance responses. 

Read more: Focus on Results (FOR) Series

Read more: CoreX Reports