Elkhorn school board president urges voters to back referendum to sustain programs and staff

Julia Ingersoll, president of the Elkhorn Area School District School Board, urged voters to approve a local referendum to maintain the district's current programs and staffing levels, saying state funding has not kept pace with inflation and that recent funding freezes have made the measure necessary.

Ingersoll, who said she has served nearly seven years on the board and is a 26-year resident and local business owner, framed the referendum as a choice between a modest tax increase and longer-term losses to the community. "What will voting no cost our community? What will it cost your children? What will it cost your grandchildren?" she asked.

She described the district as fiscally conservative, saying the Elkhorn Area School District has run a balanced budget "every single year for the past 25 years" and that the district is "among the lowest spending school districts in the state on a cost per student calculation," while graduates "rank among the top 10% in the state." Ingersoll presented those points as evidence the referendum is about maintaining quality, not correcting mismanagement: "Contrary to what you may read in social media posts, the need for this referendum has nothing to do with mismanagement of funds or the inability to balance a budget," she said.

Ingersoll said board members have trimmed spending and pursued revenue alternatives for years, noting the creation of two "center" schools and the Career and College Academy and Options as local initiatives meant to stretch resources and delay the need for a vote. She said that sustained inflation over the past four years, combined with years when the state froze funding, has left the district needing new local revenue to preserve current services.

Arguing that a rejection of the referendum would accelerate declines, Ingersoll said families already have told district leaders they would enroll their children elsewhere if the district moved to what she described as a center-school arrangement. "It will cost the community a loss of students and our high quality teachers," she said, adding that falling enrollment would further reduce revenue and could affect property values and local job opportunities.

She invited residents to contact board members with questions and to meet for further explanation of the district's finances and the referendum proposal. "Please take a hard and honest look at the true cost of what voting no will mean for our community and for our kids, and consider voting yes," she concluded.

The transcript does not specify the referendum's ballot language, tax rate or effective date; no formal board action on the measure was recorded in the provided excerpt.