Superior School Board Unanimously Approves Ballot Referendum

The Superior School Board voted unanimously to put forth a ballot referendum question seeking additional funding for the district on Monday.

The referendum comes as the school district faces budget issues that forced the permanent closure of one school and a number of layoffs for teachers, administrators, and support staff. With those cuts and layoffs, the district has made about $4.5 million in budget reductions for the upcoming school year. According to a Superior Telegram report, the school board had decided to move forward with the least expensive of the considered tax increases after conducting a community survey.

If approved, the operational referendum would allow the district to exceed its revenue limits with increasing increments over five years. The first increment would approve a $2.5 million increase for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. The final increment would approve a $5.5 million increase for the 2028-2029 school year.

For residents, the approved increases would result in an extra property tax on a $200,000 home of $14 per year for the first two years and end at $158 per year in the final year.

Superior School District officials have cited the loss of federal funding from the Covid-19 pandemic, rising inflation, and declining enrollment as the reasons behind the budget issues. These issues have become common among public schools across Wisconsin, many of which have also turned to ballot referendum questions to make up some of that budget deficit over the last year.

In the April election alone, there were 93 total school referendum questions asked on ballots across the state. Of those 93 referendums, 57 were approved by voters.