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Sparta Area School District weighs a 2026 operating referendum as budget gap widens
Summary
School leaders told the board the district faces a roughly $2.3 million deficit for 2026–27 and that a $750,000 operating referendum expires this year; trustees debated timing, ask amounts and outreach after public concern about rising property taxes.
Sparta Area School District administrators told the school board that the district faces a roughly $2.3 million budget shortfall for the 2026–27 school year and that the last year of a $750,000 operating referendum is ending. Superintendent Sam Russ framed the discussion as planning, not a formal action item, and said the board must finalize resolution language by January if it wants a spring referendum.
The administration outlined current assumptions: about $1.1 million is available from revenue stabilization under the preliminary 2025–26 budget, leaving an estimated $1.2 million shortfall if no new revenue is approved. Russ said the projection depends on state budget…
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