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Board agrees to place multi-year operational referendum on Nov. 3 ballot
Summary
The Southern Door County School Board approved two resolutions to ask voters on Nov. 3 whether to exceed state revenue limits for a multi-year operational referendum the board described in discussion as a three-year plan to increase staff compensation, add positions and fund facilities priorities; both resolutions passed on unanimous roll-call votes.
After discussion of multiple scenarios, the board voted to advance an operational referendum that will appear on ballots on Nov. 3. Board members described the proposal as a flat, three-year plan combining staff compensation increases, several prioritized facility needs and a request to restore a limited number of teaching positions. The board said its top priority is staff compensation and said the referendum structure is intended to balance district needs with taxpayer considerations.
During the discussion the board reviewed several options: an approximately $1,400,000 staff-compensation-only option; a facilities priority bucket (examples included replacing a high-school electrical panel and a main water line, each estimated in discussion near $150,000); and a staffing option to add a reading interventionist, an elementary classroom teacher and a high-school technology teacher (presenters estimated roughly $94,000 per position in discussion). Board members said they ranked positions and chose a flat option to keep the ask straightforward for voters.
The board then moved to formal action. Resolution A, authorizing the district budget to exceed the revenue limit specified in section 121.91 of the Wisconsin Statutes by the amount shown in the resolution text for three years for non‑reoccurring operational purposes, was moved, seconded and approved on a roll-call vote (Adam Shop; Kim Star; Tina Nellis; Janelle Vaser; Kristen Tussell; Luke Booty — all recorded "yes"). The board immediately approved Resolution B to provide for a referendum election to be held on Nov. 3 asking voters the question authorized in Resolution A; that motion also passed by roll-call vote. "We will see a question then on our ballots on November 3rd," the board president said, and the board encouraged community members to direct questions to the administration before the election.
Note on transcript formatting: the meeting discussion described the measure in places as "a three-year, $2.055 million operational referendum" while the resolution text in the posted packet and read aloud in the meeting uses numeric formatting shown in the transcript as "2,55,000 per year for 3 years." Those two representations appear in the transcript; the board packet or clerk's official resolution text should be consulted for definitive ballot language and exact dollar figures.
