The School District of Superior is asking voters to support a new five-year tax levy on the ballot this November.

The district is currently operating on a balanced budget for this current school year, but moving forward, faces a $2 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.

As the schools across Wisconsin deal with budget shortfalls from the state, many districts are turning to local voters to help make up the difference through referendums. For Superior, it’s the first time they’ve asked for an operational referendum – one that funds day to day operations.

“We need to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of our students and going forward in order to match or in order to meet the expenses that our kids are producing then we need to have a referendum to make up that difference.” Explained David See, director of business services for the district.

If passed, the district says they’ll be able to maintain current class sizes, staffing levels, and extracurricular programs.  Should the referendum pass, Superior taxpayers can expect to see an increase of $7 per $100,000 of property value for the first two years. The figure does increase each year after that, ending up at $79 for the final year of the five-year referendum.  

If the referendum fails, See expects more cuts, something the district had to do previously to ensure a balanced budget.

“60 staff members were cut this past spring. We would need to look at doing that again. We would have to look at possibly closing another school. We would have to look at taking away the things, the opportunities that we’re presenting to our students,” See said, “That includes AP classes. That includes the ability to for welding, for auto mechanics, things that prep our kids to be successful after high school.”

The district plans to hold two more information sessions for citizens in October, more information can be found on their website.