Wisconsin Rapids School Board approves referendum question for April election
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WSAW) - The Wisconsin Rapids School District is asking voters to approve an operational referendum this spring.
On Monday night, the school board approved a resolution to place a non-recurring operational referendum on the April 7th ballot. The referendum would ask voters to allow the district to exceed the state revenue limit by $3,800,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year.
“As a Board, our priority is to balance the needs of our students with the fiscal responsibility we owe to our taxpayers,” said Board President John Krings. “The feedback we received from the community this fall was clear: residents value our schools and understand the budgetary difficulties we face. This plan stabilizes our budget for the next five years while making budget reductions, and guaranteeing we can continue offering the high-quality education our community expects.”
The district explains that while costs for things like staffing, utilities, and classroom materials continue to rise each year, state funding has not kept pace. They are asking for this referendum to help maintain day-to-day operations and care for aging school buildings.
https://www.wsaw.com/2026/01/14/wisconsin-rapids-school-board-approves-referendum-question-april-election/