Menominee school referendum victorious

The Menominee Indian School District saw a request for a $35 million referendum sail to victory on election night, and there will be some changes on the Shawano County Board of Supervisors, the Shawano School Board and other government entities after voters brought in some new blood.

The MISD referendum had 769 votes in favor, with 284 against between Menominee and Shawano counties, so officials will have the green light to proceed with building a new high school on 40 acres of land behind Save-a-Lot in Keshena. Work is still being done on the final design for the school, but once it’s done, the district can move its middle school to the current high school building and make it for grades 5-8, giving Keshena Primary School a little breathing room.

The referendum was the first one the district had sought in decades and is expected to increase property taxes by $2.99 per $1,000 of equalized valution for the next five years and then drop. Growth in its student population, combined with the landlocked status of the existing middle school in Neopit, prompted the move by the district.

In Shawano, Jeana Winslow will be the newest member of the Shawano School Board after getting the most votes, 1,457, in the April 5 election. She will be joining incumbents Mart Grams and Chris Gull on the board after they retained their seats with 1,102 and 1,030 votes, respectively.

Longtime board member Diane Hoffman found herself the odd person out with 803 votes, possibly as a result of recent controversy in the school district over sudden announcements that a $2 million budget gap in the 2022-23 school year would result in potentially closing a school, eliminating some staff positions or cutting some programs.

There was also a registered write-in candidate, Crystal Phalen, who entered the race after the official ballots were printed and brought in a strong showing with 481 votes.

On the county board, there will be several new members. James Przybylski will be representing District 11 after winning against Richard Ferfecki, who recently passed away. Przybylski had 140 votes in the race, while Ferfecki had 67.

Incumbent Deb Noffke is out in District 14 after Jeremy Gretzinger narrowly beat her out with 85 votes, compared with 74 for Noffke.

David Heideman will be the newest board member for District 16 after getting 116 votes, while Dawn Bahr received 91 votes. The incumbent, John Ainsworth, decided not to run for reelection.

District 2 had no one on the ballot after incumbent Mark Bolin also decided not to run, but Mart Grams received 15 write-in votes and will be the city of Shawano’s newest representative.

Other referenda and competitive races results from the April 5 election include the following:

• The Town of Morris asked for the town clerk and treasurer positions to be appointed by the town board. Voters voted 57 in favor, 23 against, on the clerk position and 58 in favor, 22 against, for the treasurer.

• The opposite result came out of similar questions by the Town of Washington. Voters voted 134 against, 87 in favor on the clerk question and 133 against, 88 in favor, on the treasurer question.

• The Town of Red Springs found its non-binding “We the People” referendum easily pass with 196 votes in favor and only 25 against. The question, similar to one asked by area municipalities in years past, asked to stop the spread of corporate person rights and with it, the influence of unlimited political contributions and spending.

• Dennis Bergbaken will hold onto his seat for the Bonduel School Board after getting 494 votes, compared to challenger Kimberly Strayer’s 280 votes.

• There will be two new members on the Gresham School Board. Incumber Joe Ejnik received 275 votes, and he will be joined by Ethan Schmidt, who got 260 votes, and Jerritt Lyons, who got 238 votes. Incumbents Alphia Creapeau and Doug Huck lost their bids with 212 and 169 votes, respectively.