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, which has seen costs rise. Tjernagel says that with the needs the district is facing, it can’t afford a coin flip when it comes to a referendum question.

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Tjernagel is encouraged by the high score the district received when residents were asked whether they would recommend the district to a friend or family member. With a score of 7.21, the district ranks in the 87th percentile, which Tjernagel says is a good indicator of whether a district could be successful with a referendum.

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