The Mayville School District Board of Education highlighted student accomplishments and the start of the new school year during its Sept. 7 regular board meeting, while much of Superintendent Dr. Scott Sabol’s report focused on the district’s upcoming operational referendum and community outreach.
Mayville FFA president, Rachel Petzold updated the board on chapter activities and plans for the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October.
About 10 Mayville FFA members are expected to attend the convention, where five Mayville graduates are expected to receive the American FFA Degree, the organization’s highest degree.
Principles Reports:
Mayville Jr./Sr. High School Principal Mike Blaha reported on several developments, including the first meeting of HOSA, a new student organization focused on health care careers. The organization replaces the former science club, with 15 students attending its first meeting.
Blaha also reported on a recent law enforcement safety walkthrough of the building and updated safety plans. Two Mayville students were also recognized as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists following the qualifying process tied to their junior-year PSAT scores.
Elementary Principal Becky LaBouton highlighted the start of the school year and upcoming family activities, including the PTO Bubble Run on Oct. 2.
Funds raised will continue supporting PTO family engagement events, with a portion also going toward a new auditorium sound system. The auditorium is used for concerts, assemblies, musicals and other school events, and administrators said parts of the current system are aging and increasingly difficult to use.
Superintendent Report:
Sabol devoted much of the Superintendent’s report to the district’s upcoming seven-year operational referendum and efforts to explain the proposal to voters.
He emphasized that the current proposal differs from the district’s previous capital referendum, which funded construction and major building improvements. The new referendum is operational and is intended to support ongoing needs such as facility maintenance, transportation, safety and security while strengthening the district’s financial position.
School board member Barb Brown noted “the last referendum was a capitol for building, building new things, fixing new things.”
District officials also discussed aging buses and vans, unexpected repair costs, building maintenance and the district’s fund balance. A cash-flow analysis indicated the district would need about $4 million in fund balance to avoid short-term borrowing, while the district currently has about $1.5 million.
A key part of the district’s referendum outreach will be helping residents better understand school finance, what is a referendum including defeasance — the district’s practice of using available funds to pay down existing debt early. Board members discussed how terms such as defeasance and fund balance can be difficult to understand for residents who do not regularly deal with school finance.
Sabol said educating the public on those concepts is one of the district’s primary goals as it moves toward the referendum. The district wants residents to understand not only what the referendum would fund, but how past financial decisions, debt payments, fund balance and state revenue limits fit into the district’s overall financial picture.
“We’re educating people on school finance, and that’s the goal,” Sabol said.
Sabol said the district’s communication efforts will include presentations, mailers, social media, videos and online resources. He said the goal is to reach both supporters and residents with questions or concerns.
Recent community conversations, including with families who previously had ties to the Hustisford School District, also brought questions about school finance, fund balance and how operational referendums work.
Board members said those discussions reinforced the need to explain the district’s finances in clear terms.
“People just don’t know,” board member Melissa Worthington said. “I feel like it’s daily I have a conversation with somebody who just does not understand school finance. They hear the word referendum and think ‘what does that cost me?’ that is the question.”
Board President Randy Clark also emphasized the importance of clearly explaining how the referendum, property values and the mill rate relate to one another.
The district’s goal is zero school tax impact on residents, however residents may see tax increases for other reasons coming directly from municipalities.
Sabol said residents may still disagree with the proposal after learning more, but the district’s responsibility is to make sure voters have accurate information. The district is updating their website to make the referendum information easy to find and to understand.
Board Matters:
Approval of minutes of the previous Board Meeting
Approval of regular Semi-monthly bills
Approval of per diem
Approval of Human Resources Report and Personnel Recommendations
Contract Recommendations – 2026-27 Co-curricular Advisor Contracts
Contract Recommendation – 2026-27 Part-time Teacher Contract for Yoli Sanchez (OT)
pproval of Annual Transportation Contracts
2026-27 Transportation Contract for St. John’s Daycare Shuttle
Approval of Annual Food Service Contracts
2026-27 School Nutrition Purchasing Cooperative Agreement
Approval of Annual FFA National Convention Overnight Student Travel
The next scheduled school board meeting will be Monday, September 21, at 6 p.m.
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