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Board agrees ballot title and text edits for proposed school‑tax referendum
Summary
After extended drafting on the meeting floor the board agreed an amended ballot title and body language to place a 1‑mill school referendum before voters; staff will seek outside counsel legal review and return with an intended allocation for a March workshop and later action.
The school board approved revised ballot language and a shortened title for a proposed 1‑mill ad valorem property tax referendum to fund employee pay, school safety and mental‑health services.
Board members spent extensive time on wording, prioritization and how the ballot reads to voters. Board member Michael Zeman proposed language that explicitly led with educator pay; other members proposed alternate wording emphasizing school safety and broader staff categories. After amendments and legal review on the dais, the board adopted a final title and instructed staff to have outside counsel review the text before formal submission to the county.
"We want to make it crystal clear to the public that what they're voting on will increase educator pay," Zeman said during the discussion. Other members argued that safety and mental‑health belong in the lead position because those elements are urgent. The board compromise kept a concise title and clarified the ballot text to fund compensation, school safety personnel and mental‑health services and to allow the board to workshop detailed allocations at an upcoming session.
What’s next: Staff will send the agreed language to outside counsel for review, then submit the final resolution and ballot language to the county for placement on the November ballot; a March/April workshop will finalize the proposed allocation breakdown for voters.
