WILMOT, Wis. — In-person absentee voting is underway for the spring primary election.
Voters in the Wilmot High School District will decide on a three-year, $7.5 million operational referendum.
“We’re in a financial position now where we’ve spent fund balance in four of the last seven years,” Wilmot Union High School District Superintendent Michael Plourde said. “That’s just not sustainable.”
A Wilmot High School referendum failed last April, resulting in the elimination of 22 staff positions at the school.
Wilmot is looking to exceed its revenue limit by $2 million in 2024-25, $2.5 million in 2025-26 and $3 million in 2026-27.
If the referendum passes, the additional school tax impact per $100,000 of property value is estimated as follows:
Year 1 -- $55/year
Year 2 -- $68/year
Year 3 -- $79/year
The additional funds would go towards restoring staff, maintaining buildings, addressing security and to build funds.
“I’m confident that our community supports the school,” Plourde said. “They recognize that we’re really the center piece of the community. To have a thriving community, we have to have a successful school district.”
Danyel Scharff of Trevor will be voting in favor of the referendum.
“I think it’s very important,” Scharff said. “We have a great school system locally that we can be proud of.”
Wilmot’s Mike Finley said he’ll vote for it, primarily to get teachers their jobs back.
“When I saw the numbers on the circular or the petition about the number of teachers that were lost and maintenance on the high school,” Finley said. “I thought we got to do something.”
The spring primary election will take place on Feb. 20.
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