Interim Superintendent Dr. Wayne Anderson recommended on Dec. 16 that the Beloit School District not pursue an April referendum and instead form an ad hoc committee to study district needs and return a report in June.

Anderson said building principals’ submitted personnel and facility requests totaled about $9.7 million. He told the board that approximately $7.5 million of that total represented positions already in the district budget but currently unfilled, leaving roughly $2.2 million in new positions that would require additional funding.

Because he said he has not yet completed a full budget review or had time to gather community feedback, Anderson urged the board to delay an April referendum and use an ad hoc committee beginning in January to produce a comprehensive needs assessment, itemized costs and a community engagement plan. He suggested the district should ask for specific, itemized dollar amounts in any future referendum rather than a single undifferentiated “pot of money.”

Board members voiced support for Anderson’s recommendation. One member, speaking as a former ad hoc finance chair, said the time between the meeting and April was too short to prepare a quality referendum and urged the formation of multiple study committees on academics, attendance, discipline and facilities. Brian Nichols and others concurred.

Chair emphasized that this was a discussion item and that the board had not approved any resolutions or taken a vote to go to referendum. The board also approved moving several January committee and regular meeting dates to accommodate the interim superintendent’s availability to participate in planning.