Sturgeon Bay and Washington Island School District voters approved operational referendum questions Tuesday night that will lead to a higher tax bill for property owners in the name of continuing its high quality of education.

On Washington Island, voters approved an operational referendum that will allow the district to exceed its revenue cap by $595,000 next school year and $635,000 the year after by a 69-31 percent margin.

Sturgeon Bay School District’s referendum will cover them for the next three years, exceeding their revenue cap by $2.9 million next school year, $3.2 million in 2020-2021, and $3.6 million in 2021-2022. The measure passed by a 67-33 percent margin. 

Referendums are nothing new for the districts with Sturgeon Bay going to their voters every three years since 2007 and Washington Island doing the same every one to two years since 2000.