School District referendum questions ask for $25 million
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The ballot for the April 7 election will have contested races for both the Branch 3 Walworth County Circuit Court Judge and City of Elkhorn Aldermanic District 2 seats.
City aldermanic seats
Michael Kluck, 38, of 1408 E. Pinecrest Ln., and incumbent Gary Payson, Sr., 62, of 1229 Robincrest Ln., are running against each other in the city’s District 2 race. Payson has served on the council since 2011, and previously from 2006-2009 and 1994-1996 in District 3. If elected, this would be Kluck’s first term.
Both Tom Myrin, 56, 320 W. Hidden Trail, and Hoss Rehberg, 40, 303 Devendorf St., are running unopposed for the District 1 and 5 aldermanic seats.
The City of Elkhorn Common Council typically meets at 5:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month in the Council Chambers at Elkhorn City Hall, 9 S. Broad St.
Branch 3 Circuit Judge
As for the Walworth County Branch 3 Circuit Court Judge, two names will appear on Tuesday’s ballot.
Kristine Drettwan, 47, and John Peterson, 46, are both running for the Branch 3 seat, focusing on family, juvenile and probate court.
Drettwan has served as an assistant district attorney, beginning in 1996, and court commissioner in Walworth County, beginning in 2005. Drettwan was appointed to the seat by Gov. Scott Walker in January 2014 after the retirement of former Branch 3 Circuit Court Judge John Race. Peterson has served as the municipal judge in the Village of Walworth since 2008 and has additionally been a private sector attorney for 15 years.
School Board
The three incumbents up for election on the Elkhorn Area School District Board of Education are all running unopposed in the April 7 election.
Susan Leibsle, 63, of N5176 Brookwood Ln., Barbara Fischer, 59, of N6221 Tamarack Ct., and Matt O’Donell, 35, of 717 S. Sugarpine Way, are all running for re-election.
Leibsle has served on the school board for 21 years, 13 of which were as the board president. Fischer has served three terms on the School Board, currently as the board’s clerk, and has served as the Town of Lafayette’s clerk/treasurer since 1995. O’Donell has served one term on the School Board after being elected in 2012.
The school board typically meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month in the board room on the second floor of the Elkhorn Area School District’s 1887 Building, 3 N. Jackson St.
School referendum
Also on the ballot is a two-part referendum question, requesting a grand total of about $25 million from taxpayers with the approval of both questions.
The two-part referendum calls for two sums of money: the first being a total of $20.42 million to address safety and maintenance concerns, a large part of which are at the district’s elementary schools, the second being $4.73 million for a new multi-use space and athletic training facility/fitness center at the high school.
Overall, the referendum is expected to impact district taxes by about $35 annually on a $100,000 home, according to District Business Manager Bill Trewyn.
Where to vote
The polls are open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at the Parks and Recreation Center, 200 Devendorf St.
For those living outside of the City of Elkhorn but within the Elkhorn Area School District, elections are held at the local town hall. For more information on where and when to vote, visit myvote.wi.gov.
