School District of Webster: Referendum

04/23/2026

𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 – 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅

Following the official canvass of votes from the Spring Election, the results are now final.

We are proud to share that the operational referendum has officially 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑬𝑫! 👏

We sincerely thank all voters who participated in this important election. Your engagement and input help shape the future of our schools and community.

We are grateful for the trust placed in the district and recognize all perspectives shared throughout this process. As we move forward, we remain committed to transparency, responsible financial stewardship, and continued communication with our community.

Thank you for supporting our students and investing in the future of our schools.

04/09/2026

𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 - 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒀𝒐𝒖, 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚!

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For the first time in 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬, preliminary numbers show that our community has 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 an operational referendum!

The district previously brought operational referendum questions to voters in 1998 and 1999, which were both unsuccessful. Our first successful referendum came in 1993, when a capital/building referendum passed with 496 yes votes and 411 no votes.

𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪:

✔️ 𝗬𝗘𝗦 - 𝟣,𝟢𝟥𝟧 *
✔️ 𝗡𝗢 - 𝟩𝟨𝟦 *

This marks a 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 increase in voter participation, with 𝟴𝟵𝟮 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 than in 1993.

Because of you, this is a meaningful moment for our students and the future of our district! Your support helps ensure we can continue to maintain the programs, services, and opportunities that matter most.

We are 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 for the thoughtful conversations and strong community engagement throughout this process. At the same time, we do recognize that 43% of voters opposed the referendum. As we move forward, we remain 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 to 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, and being 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗙𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘! 🧡🖤



(*𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺)

04/07/2026

𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗬 🗳

Today is Spring Election Day across Wisconsin! Polls are open until 8:00 PM.

If you’re looking for our local preliminary results after polls close, you can follow updates here:

📍 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬
https://www.burnettcountywi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/18009/04-07-2026-Official-Village-and-Schools

📍 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬 (𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗬𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗)
https://www.douglascountywi.gov/1237/Election-Results

Thank you to all voters, poll workers, and community members who help make our elections run smoothly!

04/06/2026

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑: 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐘 🗳

Voters in the School District of Webster will see both 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 and 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐬 for Chaz Heinz and Galina Werdier on the ballot.

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘’𝐒 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐋 🛠️

We’re sharing My Vote Wisconsin as a free and helpful resource to stay informed and prepare for Election Day. Through this site, you can:

✔️ Find your polling location and hours
✔️ View what’s on your ballot
✔️ Request an absentee ballot
✔️ Update your voter registration and information

Access the site here:
🧰 https://myvote.wi.gov/

For additional School District of Webster referendum-related information and resources, please visit:
🧰 https://www.webster.k12.wi.us/district/2026-operational-referendum.cfm

03/30/2026

📢𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞

In compliance with Open Meeting Laws, the District is posting notice for tomorrow’s Community Referendum Meeting. This notice informs the public of the meeting and also acknowledges the possibility of a school board quorum.

Tomorrow's meeting is an opportunity to learn about the District’s upcoming 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 on April 7, 2026. Our District Administrator, Joshua Hetfeld, will provide an overview of the ballot question, explain the reasons behind the proposal, and answer your questions.

📅 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞/𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 6:30 PM
📍𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Elementary School Library

𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? We welcome them in any form—in person, by phone, email, or through our Google Form. We’re here to help and work through this together.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewR8B5ID-Qa9qs3Jt2O-ifrb3SKIu7SKJAd1AF5i2A_5gw_w/viewform

We encourage our community members to join, ask questions, and learn more about this important topic!

03/24/2026

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘’𝐒 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐋 🛠️

Learning how school funding works in Wisconsin is key to knowing why referendums are sometimes necessary for school districts.

Today, we’re sharing an updated video from the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards that explains school funding across the state. This resource offers helpful context as our community continues to learn about the referendum and its potential impact.

As always, we encourage you to explore our website for additional tools and resources to stay informed:
🧰 https://www.webster.k12.wi.us/.../your-referendum-toolkit

03/19/2026

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘’𝐒 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐋 🛠️

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸? Our Referendum Informational Webpage offers resources to help you better understand the referendum, its potential impact, and the current status of Wisconsin school funding.

Today’s tool we’re highlighting is our 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬! This resource breaks down common referendum-related language into clear, easy-to-understand definitions—helping you feel more informed and confident as we learn about the referendum together.

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞:
🧰https://www.webster.k12.wi.us/operationalreferendum2026/Referendum%20Glossary.pdf

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞:
🧰 https://www.webster.k12.wi.us/district/your-referendum-toolkit.cfm

03/17/2026

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏?

It means protecting the 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 and 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 our 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 depend on, supporting and retaining 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉-𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇, and 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅.

We first shared this video last year, but its message is just as important today. It highlights the 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 our schools have 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚—and the upcoming referendum will help ensure that continues for 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.

Join the Webster Tigers! 🐾Discover what makes the School District of Webster a truly special place to live, work, and learn. From our supportive team enviro...

02/26/2026

📢 𝙍𝙀𝙁𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙐𝙈 𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙊𝙋𝙋𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙔

Join us at the upcoming Senior Citizen Breakfast for an update on the Operational Referendum.

Mr. Hetfeld will share important information and host a brief Q&A session for attendees.

‼️ Most importantly, we would like for our community to note that while this event is titled the “Senior Citizen Breakfast,” all community members are welcome to join.

We ask that attendees RSVP by calling (715) 866-4282.

🥞☕ 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 ☕🥞

Join us for this month’s breakfast filled with great food, conversation, and community updates!

Mr. Hetfeld will share the latest information on the Operational Referendum and host a brief Q&A opportunity.

While this event is called our “Senior Citizen Breakfast,” all community members are welcome! 🧡🖤

📅 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑼𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆: The March and April breakfasts are being held earlier than usual. Our next breakfast will take place on April 7.

We will return to our regular second Tuesday schedule in May, with our final breakfast of the school year on May 12!

02/24/2026

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘'𝐒 𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐋 🛠️

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸? Our Referendum Informational Webpage offers resources to help you understand the referendum, its potential impact on you, and the current status of Wisconsin school funding.

Today's tool that we would like to add to your toolbox is our 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫! Enter your home’s fair market value to see an estimated annual tax increase if the referendum passes.

𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 $𝟧𝟨 𝘱𝘦𝘳 $𝟣𝟢𝟢,𝟢𝟢𝟢 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦.

Learn and explore more of our toolkit here:
🧰 https://www.webster.k12.wi.us/district/your-referendum-toolkit.cfm