District overview
Whitewater Unified School District
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is Whitewater funded, and what happens now that a referendum failed?
A seven-member elected School Board governs the district and works with Superintendent Samuel Karns. Wisconsin limits how much a district can raise, so Whitewater has asked voters three times in four years to approve extra money: an operating referendum of $4.4 million a year (approved November 2022, ending after 2026-27), a $30 million building referendum (approved April 2025), and a $5.5 million-a-year operating question that failed on November 3, 2026.
What failed
The $5,500,000-a-year, four-year operating question lost 3,763 to 3,398.
What ends
The current $4.4 million-a-year operating referendum covers only through 2026-27, so the 2027-28 budget needs a new approval or reductions.
Cash flow
The district projects negative cash from late November to January; on November 4 the board approved a note of up to $4 million to cover it (7-0).
Next step
A financial adviser's timeline for a possible April 6, 2027 referendum is on the November 10 committee agenda; the board has not voted to proceed.
Records show the board looked at budget cuts of $500,000 in each of the next two years and several referendum sizes before choosing $5.5 million. They do not establish what cuts will follow the failed vote.
Where the district stands
Down from 1,826 in 2025 and 1,954 in 2022.
Major projects
2025 capital referendum projects
Under constructionA $30 million capital referendum passed in April 2025. Updates in 2026 cover construction contracts, a groundbreaking and new middle school bus loop work; the board also authorized borrowing parameters of up to $15,575,000 in February.
- Board sets parameters for up to $15,575,000 in notes
- Groundbreaking possible May 13
- Construction update from project manager
Funding
Voter-approved capital referendum
A May 2026 contractor snapshot (a scanned document) lists subcontractor costs near $16 million; the full project budget was not read from text.
Possible April 2027 operating referendum
Under discussionAfter the November defeat, a financial adviser prepared a timeline for a referendum on April 6, 2027 with board scope due around January 26, 2027.
- Board places $5.5M question on Nov. 3 ballot
- Committee agenda: results and plans
Funding
Local property taxes above the revenue limit if approved
No amount has been proposed.
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Explore resources →Based on 337 documents from the district's BoardDocs portal (agendas, minutes and attachments, November 2025 to November 2026). The district website is not read because it blocks automated access.
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