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Juda ponders what’s next after failed school referendum
Survey, community round-table coming soon, next vote in August or November
juda panther

JUDA — The Juda School District held community informational sessions prior to the April 2 election, where district voters turned down an operational referendum that asked for more than $500,000.

The Juda Board of Education met April 10 to discuss the next steps the district will take to address its needs and budget for the future.

“The unsuccessful referendum puts building maintenance projects on hold and jeopardizes financial stability for the District,” Superintendent Traci Davis wrote in a press release.

The district ultimately cut a math interventionist position for the 2024-25 school year. A math interventionist is a staff member that assists the teachers in the classroom and helped with students who struggle with math.

“The district is also not able to offer insurance benefits for support staff which makes it extremely difficult to retain and hire new staff,” Davis said.

In Wisconsin’s public school funding system, the only way a district can increase its revenue in the operating budget — known as Fund 10 — is through a referendum. Juda’s administrators and school board want to bring forward another referendum for voters to vote on, but first they are seeking additional input from the community. Many voters might have questions from the last referendum, school officials said, and the district wants to give more information and explain in further detail what the school and community might need moving forward.

Officials will survey Juda School District voters between April 19-29 with an anonymous survey. However, the voter is able to notate their name if they would liked to be contacted directly.

Next, the district will hold a community round-table from 6:30-8 p.m. on May 1. The forum is open to the community and intends to give a general overview of the budget. The discussion also encourages voters to ask questions about what is needed moving forward. 

“We ask that if you have specific questions that you submit them ahead of time at davis@judaschool.com,” Davis said.

The district will hold its regular board meeting at 7:30 p.m. on May 8. A special board meeting on May 22 will decide on whether to hold the referendum in the August or November elections later this year.