The election on Tuesday, November 5 held good news for Owen-Withee Schools as the referendum for non-recurring expenses for operations and maintenance passed with 1,030 yes votes to 708 no votes. The towns of Beaver, Green Grove, Mayville and Roosevelt were the only ones with more no votes than yes votes.

When asked what this would mean for the school district, District Administrator Randy Bergman said, “There are several needs that can get fulfilled with the passing of the referendum. First of all, for the students, especially at the jr. high level, computers are needed. The computers that they are using are six and seven years old and past their life span. We are going to have to sit down and see what we need to do in that area. Also, computers are needed for the students that are taking college level courses. The computers they have been using have not worked properly for these students to feel like they can do their college level work effectively and efficiently. We are going to meet as a team to see where we can use chromebooks and where laptops will be necessary for the students. Also, the technology the staff is using is past its usable life span. We will need to upgrade equipment for them to use for lesson planning, teaching technology in the classrooms and for presentations. As you know, this tech equipment is not cheap to replace. Another area that will need to be considered for this summer is to replace some other sidewalks around the school building that are getting to be in rough condition. The building and grounds committee will need to sit down to evaluate what are our basic needs in this area and continue to be sure we upkeep the school we have. Custodians and maintenance already do an excellent job with what they have to keep this building in good condition. Also, we need to work with the staff to be sure they are getting increases that stay competitive with other schools in the area. We have really great teachers and staff and now we need to work hard to retain them. The school board, administration, teaching and support staff will need to discuss all the needs and be sure we are looking out for the budget. The O-W school district also has a fund balance policy of 15 percent of the budget that should be maintained for operations. This helps to not have to do short term borrowing which costs money in interest also. The fund balance has not had 15 percent in its reserve since approximately 2018. The O-W School District thanks everyone for passage of this referendum for the next three years to be sure we can operate effectively with what we currently have.”

On the county level races were uncontested. Clark County saw 15,397 people turn out to vote. Current incumbents had the following totals: District Attorney Melissa Inlow, 9,422 votes; County Clerk Christina Jensen, 13,232 votes; County Treasurer, Renee Schoen, 13,048 votes; and Register of Deeds Mary Denk, 13,295 votes.

In state and national rates, Clark County agreed with the nation for most races and voting for Republicans, supporting Trump/Vance for President and Vice President, Tiffany for 7th Congressional District, and Hurd for 69th Assembly District. Democrat Tammy Baldwin did not win in Clark County, with the most votes going to Republican Eric Hovde. Clark County also went along with the rest of the state supporting the referendum on changing the wording on who can vote in Wisconsin.