The Sturgeon Bay School District has been contemplating a fall referendum for months, but what will ultimately make it onto the ballot became clearer this week.

District officials received survey results from consultant School Perceptions to learn what the community would support ahead of the expiration of the district’s current referendum cycle. Higher costs for transportation, utilities, insurance and special education services, along with declining federal funding and state general school aid, have left the district facing a multimillion-dollar shortfall if nothing is done.

When the district sent out surveys in July, Superintendent Dan Tjernagel said the district was doing what it could to trim the budget, following a multiyear plan to reduce staffing by 15 positions and save about $1 million annually.

According to the survey, 60% of the 857 respondents said they would definitely or probably support a replacement operating referendum that would provide the Sturgeon Bay School District with $3.5 million in each of the next five years. When the amount increased to $3.75 million to pay teachers more competitively, 59.4% of respondents said they would definitely or probably support it.

Support dropped nearly 10 percentage points to 50.8% when respondents were presented with a $4 million referendum that would also provide funding for building maintenance above and beyond what they already do. Tjernagel says that with the data they collected they leaned heavier into the opinion of those who would be contributing to the district's success without direct connection to them like a parent or staff member would

You can find the full report from the survey here.

The Sturgeon Bay School Board will meet next week to discuss placing a potential referendum question on the November general election ballot.