My daughter is a student at the Winter School District, a Wisconsin 4K-12 public school with all grades in one building. She will be in 7th grade this year, has always gone to this school and would like to graduate with her friends from this school. She knows that her school is in financial trouble like so many schools across our state and that her school needs help to stay open.

Recently, she found 23 cents at a boat landing and decided to collect it to donate to our school. This gave her the idea to start a change drive because, as a kid, this was something she could do to help. She has put containers around the community where people can drop off their extra change. We have been asked to set up a GoFundMe account so people who are further away or would like to donate online would have a way to do so.

Although change is a small amount of money, it does add up. There is no donation too small or too big and every single penny will directly benefit the students.

The biggest concern for our school district is that it is very small and rural. The amount of funding from the state is not sufficient to cover all operations and needs of the school. Although cuts have been made, the school has had to use savings to make ends meet. This way of surviving as a district cannot continue. In April 2026 the school asked the community to support an operational referendum, but the vote failed, in a large part because of a lack of understanding of the whole situation by the community. The school is trying another referendum this November 2026, but any donations in the meantime will help and will ensure that the school continues to survive and thrive for its students. This is 100% by the kids for the kids.

Please note that GoFundMe does take a small percentage of each donation to run their platform, however, a group of community has offered to MATCH that percentage so your entire donation amount will benefit the Winter School District! If you would prefer, you can also send a check to Winter School District, PO Box 310, Winter, WI 54896. Please note your donation is for the “Kids’ Change Drive.”

Thank you very much for your support. Too many schools, especially small, rural districts, are without adequate funding through no fault of their own and we are grateful for community support from near and far.