Voters in the Trevor-Wilmot Consolidated Grade School District and the Twin Lakes School District will decide Tuesday, Nov. 3, whether to raise property taxes to keep their schools funded.

The two western Kenosha County districts are among 72 across Wisconsin putting a combined 79 school referendums on the ballot, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. The statewide total: $1.6 billion in operational and capital requests.

Both local referendums are second attempts. Voters in Trevor-Wilmot and Twin Lakes rejected referendums on the April 7 ballot, according to results from the Kenosha County Clerk's Office.

Trevor-Wilmot: $1.9 million per year

Trevor-Wilmot is asking voters to exceed the state revenue limit by $1.9 million per year for four school years, through the 2030-31 school year, according to responses District Administrator Tracy Donich provided to westofthei.com.

Donich said the district needs to replace expiring local funding and cover inflationary costs. Debt payments tied to the district's 2011 consolidation have been paid off, and a 2022 voter-approved operating referendum expires after this school year.

If approved, the school district tax rate would rise to about $6.16 per $1,000 of equalized property value, up from a projected $4.28 this year, Donich said. For a home assessed at $100,000 in equalized value, the school portion of the tax bill would increase by about $100 by January 2028 compared to January 2026.

If voters say no, Donich said the district would have to make significant cuts to programming, student services and facility upkeep.

Twin Lakes: $800,000 per year

The Twin Lakes School District board approved a resolution June 8 to place a four-year, $3.2 million nonrecurring operating referendum on the November ballot. The measure would let the district exceed its revenue limit by $800,000 per year for four years,beginningwith the 2026-27 school year and continuing through the 2029-30 school year.

Statewide pressure

The flood of referendums reflects a statewide squeeze. The 2025-27 Wisconsin state budget kept general school aid flat at $5.58 billion for a third consecutive year, providing no inflationary increase, WPR reported. Declining enrollment has hit nearly every district in the state.

Public school officials say state-imposed revenue limits make it impossible to fund day-to-day operations, WPR reported. Opponents counter that districts receive more than $18,000 per pupil, slightly above national averages, and argue the problem is how that money is spent.

In April, 75 school referendums went before Wisconsin voters. More than 60% of those passed, WPR reported. But a March Marquette Law School Poll found 51% of respondents said they would be inclined to vote against a school referendum, up from 46% who said the same in June 2025.

Sixteen districts whose April referendums failed are trying again Nov. 3.

KUSD eyes April

Kenosha Unified School District does not have a referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. The district adopted a 2026-27 budget projecting a $17.8 million structural deficit, and a previous referendum failed, according to WLIP.

A community survey of 400 district residents found 60% said KUSD was not adequately funded, WGTD reported. Without specifics on a potential referendum's size, 31% said they would support one and 30% said they would vote no. The rest said they could be persuaded.

Consultant Peter Leatherman, who presented the survey results at the Oct. 27 school board meeting, stopped short of predicting whether a KUSD referendum would pass. Half of respondents said their households were financially stressed, WGTD reported.

KUSD board members are expected to begin discussing what a referendum question could look like at a Dec. 3 committee-of-the-whole meeting.