By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – The School District of Tomahawk’s three-year, $3.25 million non-recurring referendum was approved by voters in the Tuesday, April 5 Spring Election.
According to preliminary results, the spending request received 2,004 “yes” votes and 1,602 “no” votes, a difference of 402 votes and a roughly 56% to 44% margin.
The referendum’s approval comes after the district’s two previous attempts to pass a spending request failed.
Voters rejected a four-year, $3.5 million referendum by 51 votes in Nov. 2020. A four-year, $3.25 million spending request failed by 33 votes in April 2021.
Lincoln County
In Lincoln County, 1,701 voters supported the referendum, while 1,307 voters were opposed, a roughly 57% to 43% margin.
Similar to the district’s two previous attempts to pass a referendum, a majority of voters in the City of Tomahawk cast “yes” votes. According to preliminary results, 655 City of Tomahawk voters (roughly 67%) supported the referendum, while 319 (approximately 33%) were opposed.
The April 5 referendum saw stronger backing in townships than its previous two counterparts, when township support lagged.
Majorities of voters in the Towns of Bradley, Harrison, King and Rock Falls backed the spending request, while most voters in the Towns of Tomahawk and Wilson were opposed. The Town of Birch, where only two votes on the referendum were cast, saw a 50/50 split, while the Town of Skanawan saw 80 votes in favor and 83 votes against.
Oneida County
The results were much closer in Oneida County, where voters approved the spending request by a 303-295 vote margin (about 51% to 49%).
In the Town of Little Rice, 75 “no” votes were cast (roughly 71%), while 31 voters (roughly 29%) were in support.
The Town of Nokomis saw 272 voters in favor and 220 voters opposed, according to preliminary results.
School board releases statement
In a statement from Wednesday, April 6, the district’s Board of Education said that as a result of the referendum’s approval, the district “will be able to move forward with maintaining key programs and services for our students,” adding that the referendum will “help address the financial challenges the district currently faces.”
“We would like to thank our entire community for your engagement and support,” the board stated. “We have had some great conversations about the future of our district over the past several months. While we may not agree on everything, it is clear that this is a community that truly cares about its local schools and the students they serve.”