<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=29qA63_1H1kig6n00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=29qA63_1H1kig6n00" width="990" height="660" ><figcaption>Southern Door School District. File photo.</figcaption></figure>Board has until Jan. 26 to decide whether to try again in April 2027For the second time in a row, Southern Door voters rejected the school district’s request to exceed its state-set revenue limit through an operational referendum.Less than a week later, on Monday, Nov. 9, school board members and administrators met to discuss what happens next.The referendum, which appeared on the Nov. 3 ballot and asked voters to approve $2.055 million annually for three years in excess of revenue limits, failed by a margin of 100 votes, or 2,424 to 2,324. The previous referendum, on the April 2026 ballot, asked voters to approve $3.15 million annually for three years. It failed by a greater margin of 428 votes, 2,031 to 1,603.The district has operated without funding above its revenue limit since June, when an operational referendum approved in 2022 expired. Since then, it has eliminated 13 staff positions, including nine full-time positions, instituted a pay freeze and reduced course offerings, technological updates and equipment purchases.The next time the school board can ask voters to consider another referendum is April 2027.On Nov. 9, board members and administrators discussed ways to cut costs while building trust within the community. The conversation centered on four main topics: staff retention/recruitment, future budgeting considerations, future operational considerations and community engagement. According to School Board President Janel Veeser, the district knows of 10 students who left the school district specifically because of the failed April referendum. She said she expects to see the same after the November vote. The group discussed how to move forward within its budget without pushing more students and staff members away. Board member Luke Spude suggested reevaluating the school’s staffing plan to make some class sizes larger and eliminate the need for full-time positions in some grades.Superintendent Kevin Krutzik said increasing teachers’ workloads could put the district in an even more precarious position.“For every person who says that [classes should be bigger], we’ll have a parent that says ‘if your classes are 27 [students], I’m out of here,’” he said. “Or we’ll have a teacher that says ‘I’m on the lowest pay scale in northeastern Wisconsin, and now you’re going to shove 27 kids in a room? I’m gone.’”The board and administrators brainstormed a wide range of ideas for reducing costs and increasing revenue, from a four-day school week to cutting nonessential programs, such as club sports.“I think at this point we’re at the ‘pie in the sky’ level [of ideas],” Veeser said.The group acknowledged that the two failed referendums stemmed from a lack of trust between the district and the community.“We know that we have some work to do in community engagement,” Veeser said.In addition to the work they’re already doing – attending municipal meetings, hosting educational sessions and using a variety of local media to get their message out – the board discussed ways to be more visible in the community as individuals.Spude stressed the importance of connecting with the community beyond referendum promotion.“From now until April can’t be focused solely on the referendum,” he said. “We need to show that we’re doing other things between now and then, besides the referendum work.”The board must decide by Jan. 26 whether to go to referendum in April 2027. By then, it plans to have conducted at least one survey to gauge support and to have decided the specifics of the ballot measure.</div></body>

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Board has until Jan. 26 to decide whether to try again in April 2027. For the second time in a row, Southern Door voters rejected the school district’s request to exceed its state-set revenue limit through an operational referendum. Less than a week later, on Monday, Nov. 9, school...

Southern Door Weighs Next Steps After Second Failed Referendum

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Board has until Jan. 26 to decide whether to try again in April 2027. For the second time in a row, Southern Door voters rejected the school district’s req

Southern Door Weighs Next Steps After Second Failed Referendum

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