By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
You can’t always get what you want.
The old adage proved true Tuesday night as, in spite of strong support from some sectors, a referendum for a new Waterford Union High School field house was defeated for the second time, and a Kansasville School referendum was also defeated.
The vote was closer than in last spring’s vote for the field house, but many fewer votes were cast. While last April’s referendum question drew in more than 7,600 votes, this time there were just more than 4,000 – which isn’t surprising given the referendum was held during a primary election with few candidates on the ballot.
There were 2,199 no votes compared to 1,832 yes votes.
The $12.1 million referendum would have provided the high school with a new field house/fitness center. Proponents said the field house fit the needs of an expanding district, while opponents said it was a “want” and not a “need,” and that the district had already been told no once.
The proposed referendum would not have raised property taxes. However, opponents had cited the ability for the school district to drop its taxes even further by not doing the project.
WUHS Superintendent Keith Brandstetter didn’t want to use the word disappointed.
“I think it was just a great opportunity for our community to expand our opportunities,” Brandstetter said. “I think we had informed voters.
“They based their decision off the information that they had,” he added.
Brandstetter said there had been no formal discussion as to whether the referendum would be broached again, but “I don’t see that happening” was his comment in regard to the question being raised again.
Other races
Meanwhile, in Dover, the proposed $4.2 million referendum for an expansion of Kansasville School failed to pass as well.
There were 136 no votes cast compared to 114 yes votes. The planned renovation would have expanded learning facilities, as well as create a dedicated cafeteria space. The school would have also addressed ADA compliances issues and secure entrances with the upgrades.
“We felt it was well understood. We felt there was a large support group,” said Kansasville District Administrator Matt Stratton. “Obviously, not large enough.”
He added that the School Board and referendum committee would figure out, “in the near future, how to move forward.”
In Waterford, the Waterford Graded School District School Board race was narrowed from four candidates to two, and the race wasn’t even close.
Dean Schrader, a former member of the board, earned the highest number of votes with 909, while Ryan Ross – a 23-year-old who graduated from WUHS in 2012 – pulled in 894 votes.
Doug Schwartz, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat last spring, came in with 572 votes, while the final candidate, Mike Mabert, totaled 253 votes.
In the state school superintendent primary, the county results echoed the statewide results, where incumbent Tony Evers and challenger Lowell Holtz advanced easily.
However, where Evers had more than 70 percent of the vote as of 10 p.m. Tuesday statewide, Racine County saw a closer race between him and Holtz. Evers won 2,719 county votes, while Holtz had 2,493.
John Humphries, who had less than 10 percent of the statewide vote, had 625 votes in Racine County.
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