Abby votes “yes” to capital referendum
By Neal Hogden
Voters within the Abbotsford School District chose to approve a $17 million referendum through the 2044 school year. The funds will be used to accomodate growth, enhance safety and security measures and update aging infrastructure.
Early election returns on Tuesday night pointed to a split vote as rural areas such as the town of Colby, Ward 2, the town of Hoard, Ward 1, the town of Mayville Ward 2, the village of Curtiss, the town of Holton, town of Hull, town of Johnson and town of Frankfurt combined to vote down the referendum by a 130-115 margin. However, the city of Abbotsford residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the referendum by a 213-111 split.
The district is expected to begin design and development processes immediately through summer. Construction is expected to begin in April of 2025. The project is expected to be completed during the summer of 2026.
District Administrator Ryan Bargender said he is happy voters recognized the importance of upgrading the school’s facilities while also being financially responsible.
“We are extremely excited and thankful for the continued support that we receive from our community,” Bargender said. “The support for the referendum is an example of that. Our community values education, our students, and staff. This is a testament to the trust the school board has built up over the years and the hard work continually done by staff. The passing of this referendum will allow us to continue to prepare life-long learners to lead productive and rewarding lives in a changing world. It is a great day to be a Falcon.”
Despite adding $17 million to the tax
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Yes
328 (57.6%) No
241 (42.4%) Elections
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levy, the district does not expect residents of the district to experience a tax increase from the school district as debt from a previous referendum will have fallen off.
The additions will help the district manage the additional 170 students it has gained since 2009. Six additional classrooms are planned to be added to the middle/high school building while two new classrooms will be added to the elementary school. Throughout 2018 and 2023, the elementary school has already added on seven classrooms.
The referendum will also help fund an estimated 2,275 square foot expansion of the kitchen and freezer/cooler area to help with storing the increased amount of food needed to feed more students.
Dorchester Village Board
Incumbents Julie Goldschmidt (53 votes) and Thomas Carter (43 votes) were reelected to two year terms. Incumbent Daniella Schauer did not receive enough votes to be re-elected as Troy Ballerstein garnered 73 votes to Schauer’s 37.
Clark County Board of Supervisors In Clark County District 16, the towns of Unity, Colby and village of Unity voted to elect Scott Johnson over Larry Oehmichen to replace longtime Clark County Chairman Wayne Hendrickson by a count of six votes.
In District 17, the voters decided incumbent Chuck Rueth would represent the towns of Beaver, Green Grove and Warner on the Clark County Board of Supervisors for another two-year term. He beat Tony Horvath by a tally of 11688.
Colby School Board
Incumbent David Decker and firsttime school board member Brian Streveler will be representing residents of the Colby School District on the board of education. Streveler will be taking the place of former board president Bill Tesmer who chose not to run this term.
Abbotsford School Board
Present board president Eric Reis, Kraig Schindler and Ivone Vazquez all were re-elected to a three-year term. The trio ran unopposed.
Area village and city board elections
The Curtiss Village Board will be welcoming back Mark Kunze and Jonathan Unruh as village trustees. Unity residents earning spots as village trustees were Jason Luedtke, Abby Miklaszewicz and Dean Schilling.
In the city of Abbotsford, Jeremiah Zeiset, Roger Weideman, Selenia Espino and Jan Read all earned spots on the board for two more years. Judy Kalepp was re-elected as the municipal judge.
In Colby, Jim Schmidt will serve as mayor for two more years while Liz Baumgartner, Todd Schmidt and Nancy O’Brien retained seats as alderpersons on the city council.
Presidential primary
Joe Biden and Donald Trump won the Democratic and Republican primaries in Wisconsin by wide margins over their opponents. The two are expected to run against one another on the November ballot.
State referendum questions
Both questions concerning state matters that appeared on the ballot were passed by voters. The first question aiming to prohibit private funding of elections passed by an estimated 54 percent. The second question concerning limiting election conduct to elected officials passed by a clip of 59 percent.
