Canvass overturns school referendum outcome in Tomah

Two communities called in their numbers incorrectly on election night

TOMAH, Wis. — The official canvas from last week’s election overturned the outcome of the Tomah school referendum.

Two communities called in their numbers incorrectly on election night. That changed the final vote from passing by 31 votes to being voted down by a 25 vote margin.

That means the district won’t get an additional $350,000 this year and will look at a list of potential positions and extra-curriculars to cut.

“We’re looking at an additional Family and Consumer Ed teacher at our high school, the elimination of a librarian at the elementary level, an early childhood teacher, then eliminating our high school bowling program, our girls cheer and dance program at the middle school level, so those are things that we’re looking at,” said Tomah Schools Superintendent Cindy Zahrte.

The funding loss gets more significant every year. The school was asking for $750,000 in 2015 and 1.5 million in 2016.