Trevor-Wilmot voters have again turned down a request for more school operating money, rejecting the district's Nov. 3 referendum by 967 votes against to 751 in favor, according to unofficial results. The margin was 56.29 percent to 43.71 percent.
The question would have let the district go past state revenue limits by $1.9 million a year for four years, starting in 2027-28 and running through 2030-31, for a combined $7.6 million. The added money would have replaced local funding approved in 2022, including an operating referendum that provided $800,000 a year and expires at the end of the current school year.
It was the second defeat in seven months. On April 7, about 57 percent of voters opposed a similar $6.8 million proposal. After that vote, the district reported a projected $400,000 deficit, directed departments to look for about 10 percent in reductions, and canceled summer school, a step officials estimated saved about $40,000.
District officials say cuts already made include suspending summer school, reducing staff positions and hours, combining bus routes, delaying technology replacement and deferring building maintenance, and they say more reductions will be needed for 2027-28 because the district will no longer have voter approval to exceed the revenue limit. No specific further cuts have been decided, board president Sandy Quaintance said students would be at the center of the decisions ahead, and some residents have questioned whether the warnings are meant to build support for another try.
The district serves about 425 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade at Trevor-Wilmot School, 26325 Wilmot Road. The school board is set to begin planning its 2027-28 budget at its Jan. 26, 2027, meeting at the school, and the district has not announced a third referendum.
