Operational referendum slated for Pines School District

The Northland Pines School District, with four school campuses located in Vilas County, will be conducting an operating referendum on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to exceed the revenue limit for operational purposes.
The district is requesting $5.6 million per year for three years starting with the 2025-26 school year. If passed, this referendum would replace the current referendum, which was passed in 2022, for $4.6 million per year.
In 2019 voters approved a $4.6 million referendum that was replaced with the one in 2022 (meaning that for the last six years no increase was requested, according to the district). The current $4.6 million referendum is set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
A key aspect of the new referendum is that in the 2024-25 school year (third year of current referendum) $2.4 million dollars came off the levy because the last payment for the Northland Pines Middle and High School building was made. That reduced the mill rate by an estimated .72 cents or $72 dollars per $100,000 home. If passed, the district says that this new referendum would increase taxes by .16 cents in the first year, .11 cents in the second year and .05 cents in the last year. This means for a $100,000 dollar house, a $16 increase would be seen in year one, $11 in year two and $5 in year three. The new requested referendum dollars would be used for operational costs.
District Administrator Scott Foster will hold four informational meetings to present directly to the public regarding the operations of the school district and the impact on taxpayers of this operational school referendum. Meeting dates, times and locations are as follows:
• Thursday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Land O’ Lakes Elementary School
• Thursday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Middle School and High School Auditorium
• Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Germain Elementary School
• Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. at Walter E. Olson Memorial Library
In addition to the scheduled events listed above, if any group would like DA Foster to meet with them to answer questions and explain the need for this referendum, it is recommended that they reach out to Foster directly at 715-479-6487, Option 3, Ext. 1 or via email at sfoster@npsd.k12.wi.us.
Visit the website: https://www.npsd.k12.wi.us/district/referendum-2025.cfm to learn more about the needs of the referendum, how the current request is calculated, as well as how the district has used the funds in the past.