Several school districts have referendums approved by voters during Spring Primary

MAUSTON, Wis. (Civic Media) – Voters in five school districts in Wisconsin largely approved referendums during Tuesday’s Spring Primary.

Four of the five referendums on the ballot passed easily, according to unofficial results posted by county clerks on Tuesday night.

Of the five, the one with perhaps the most attention was in Mauston, where district officials said that without the additional referendum funds, the district will not be able to operate past the 2026-27 school year.

The referendum passed easily at a nearly 2-to-1 margin, which will provide $7 million over four years for operating expenses. Last year, facing potential dissolution, district voters shot down a referendum in April, with only 38.2% voting yes. Last November, 49.4% of voters in the district supported the ballot measure, falling just short of passing.

Mauston wasn’t the only district to get good news Tuesday night. Two northern Wisconsin districts, Northland Pines and Tomahawk, had a relatively stress-free night as their respective operational referendums passed. Both districts were essentially extending existing operational referendums that had expired, meaning the change on property taxes would be minimal from what they were before.

Northland Pines voters approved a 3-year non-recurring plan at $5.6 million per year for a total of $16.8 million. In Tomahawk, voters passed a 4-year non-recurring referendum at a total cost of $13 million.

Waterford Union High School sought a $24.9 million referendum for facility updates. The money is being used for building improvements only. Voters approved the plan at a nearly 56% rate.

One district did not see its referendum pass, and it was the one with the largest ballot measure by price tag in the state. Kenosha Unified voters turned down – at a 56% no to 44% yes clip – a 5-year, $115 million referendum for operations.

The district said it was facing a $19 million budget shortfall for next year and had already closed some of its schools and cut staff ahead of the referendum. School officials said that the consequences of the referendum not passing could include additional staff cuts and school closures, trimming benefits for employees, and eliminating AP courses.

One common thread among the five school referendums on the ballot Tuesday: All advocated for change to the current school aid formula, which has left public schools behind inflation, prompting referendums at nearly every district in Wisconsin. Over 90% of districts in Wisconsin have had at least one referendum since the revenue limit system was put in place three decades ago. 245 of the state’s 421 districts have passed a referendum in the past four years.

Last year, Wisconsin set a record for school referendums – 241 total ballot measures across the four elections in 2024. This year, there are a total of of 94 school referendum questions, the five in the primary and 89 more on April 1st.

Recent trends in how voters view school spending, rising property taxes, and political stances on public versus private school education are pushing down success rates of referendums in general and making the success or failure of each ballot measure subject to a handful of votes. Last fall, of 138 referendums on the ballot, 53 of them were decided by fewer than 200 votes.

This year brings potential changes to the referendum system in Wisconsin. Republicans have introduced proposed legislation that would curb school referendums in an effort to protect property taxpayers from levy limit increases.

School districts in this year’s referendum cycle have been critical of the state budgets that have increasingly not kept up school funding with inflation, as well as legislative mandates, such as Act 20, going unfunded, costing districts even more money as they work to implement statutory education requirements.

All results on Tuesday night are unofficial until canvassing. The only school district that published its canvassing date is Mauston, which will conduct its canvass on Thursday, Feb. 20.

For more on who represents you, what district you are in, what is on your ballot, and your voter registration information, you can visit MyVote Wisconsin.