Sparta, Westby voters approve school referendums

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLCX) – Voters in the Sparta and Westby school districts approved operational referendums Tuesday.

The passed measures mean the districts will be able to levy taxpayers for more money to use on staff and services.

Both referendums are non-recurring, meaning the measures will eventually expire.

Sparta will levy an additional $750,000 over the next two years for a total of $1.5 million. Westby was set to cut 12 staff positions if its referendum didn’t pass, but they’ll be able to levy up to $1.2 million over the next three years for a total of $3.6 million.

The pair of passed measures are among at least 55 that were approved by voters in Wisconsin school districts Tuesday.

Other west-central Wisconsin districts had mixed results. Osseo-Fairchild and Kickapoo saw their ballot questions pass, while voters in De Soto and Mauston reject school district plans.

The rest of western Wisconsin saw a number of referendums fail at the polls, including nearly a dozen in southwestern Wisconsin.

None of the election results Tuesday are official until canvassing is done in the next week.