School referendum, local races on ballot

IOLA/SCANDINAVIA – Voters in the Iola-Scandinavia School District will go to the polls April 7 for the spring election, with several local offices and a school board referendum on the ballot.

Residents will select village board members in Scandinavia and trustees in Iola, cast votes for two school board seats, and decide whether to approve a district referendum to exceed the state revenue limit. The election will also include statewide and county contests.

Village of Scandinavia
Voters in the Village of Scandinavia will see two village board seats on the ballot in the spring election. The candidates include incumbents Michael Hayes and Daniel Koehler, and challenger Michael Schroder. The two candidates with the most votes will be elected.

Village of Iola

Three trustee positions are up for election in the Village of Iola this spring. Incumbents David Harper and Pamela Parks are running, while incumbent Sharyl Peterson is not seeking re-election. The other candidates include Erikka Flowers, Mark McCoy, Mike Richberg and Jason Woyak. Voters may select up to three candidates and the three receiving the most votes will be elected.

Town of Iola
No town seats are on the ballot this spring. Town residents will still vote on local school board seats, a district referendum, and county and statewide races in the April election.

Iola-Scandinavia School Board
The Iola-Scandinavia School Board is made up of members representing a mix of villages and surrounding towns. Two members represent the Village of Iola, and one each represents the towns of Amherst and Scandinavia, the towns of Iola and New Hope, the towns of Helvetia (South) and St. Lawrence, the Village of Scandinavia, and the towns of Harrison, Wyoming and Helvetia (North). Board members serve staggered three‑year terms, so only certain seats are on the ballot each spring.

This year, the seat for the towns of Iola and New Hope held by Laura Krogwold and the Village of Scandinavia seat held by Vanessa Kirmse are up for election. Both are seeking re-election with no challengers.

Referendum
Voters in the Iola-Scandinavia School District will also be asked to approve a referendum to exceed the state revenue limit. The question appears on the ballot as:

“Shall the School District of Iola-Scandinavia, Waupaca and Portage Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,600,000 for the 2026-2027 school year, and by $2,000,000 per year for three years, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year and ending with the 2029-2030 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of sustaining educational programming, student opportunities and operations?”

If the referendum passes, school district officials estimated property owners would see an average $41 increase per $100,000 of property value each year over the four-year period.