Lake Holcombe School Board - Voter support needed to continue good things going on

Todd Senoraske, athletic director at Lake Holcombe School, shared with the board of education, Dec. 16, what his Student Athlete Leadership team means to him and the positive culture he’s seen come out of it. It’s become so noticed, that others are talking about starting one of their own and have approached Senoraske. Photo by Joy Dain

By Ginna Young

It’s hard to believe three years have passed since the last operational referendum was approved by the voters of the Lake Holcombe School District, but here we are.

Now that the referendum to exceed the revenue limit is expiring at the end of the school year, it’s time for electors to once again decide if they want to support their school or watch it close.

The process to request an extension on that referendum, began Dec. 16, during the regular board of education meeting. The three-year referendum would exceed the revenue limit by $900,000, per year, for non-recurring purposes.

Lake Holcombe is in a slight decline for enrollment, even though there are multiple open enrolled students this year.

“If you’re in a decline, you know that you’re revenue limit is going to go down,” said district administrator Kurt Lindau.

Revenue limits have not been indexed to inflation for over a decade, meaning that, based on the number of students at Lake Holcombe, the district would have received the same amount as the referendum revenue provides each year, if the index had stayed current.

By passing the referendum, that allows the district to continue with programming and additional offerings for students, as well as maintenance of the buildings and grounds, while retaining and recruiting quality educators.

“We do very well at offering diverse educational experiences for students,” said Lindau. “The passage of this referendum is necessary to continue that tradition, it really is.”

It’s an acknowledged fact that if the referendum fails, the Lake Holcombe School District will dissolve, if it is not supported by the electors. If that would happen, dissolution falls under the School District Boundary Appeals Board and Lake Holcombe would have no control of where the students go.

“You’ll still pay tax, your land value will be reassigned to a different school district and you’ll pay the tax for that school district,” said Lindau.

The board approved resolutions, authorizing going ahead with the referendum and allowing the question on the spring election ballot.

If the referendum fails and the school remained open, the only things funded would be the absolute basic instruction of education. “School’s got to be more than that, for kids, to keep them a well-rounded person in the community,” said board president Brian Guthman.

Lindau hopes that taxpayers will see the value in what Lake Holcombe offers, as not every kid wants to play football, but may want to sing in the choir or do forensics, etc.

“There’s something here for everyone,” he said. Members also approved the 2025-26 calendar, with a week-long spring break, as chosen by teachers from a two-option survey.

They also approved volunteer assistant archery coach Shaun Goeldner.

In showing some of the great things happening at Lake Holcombe, athletic director Todd Senoraske spoke about his time at the Wisconsin Athletic Director Association conference. Senoraske was invited to share his thoughts and the things that Lake Holcombe has done, so far, in regards to leadership.

One item Senoraske spoke on, was how to get a leadership team started.

“What’s cool, is it’s a big initiative now within the WIAA,” said Senoraske.

Lake Holcombe has their own Student Athlete Leadership team, including Chloe Lee, who was one of 300 students chosen, who applied for 27 positions. Lee is now on a subcommittee, with her project as mental health in athletics.

“She’s taken that to new heights there,” said Senoraske. As part of a leadership team, Senoraske can see the positive connections in the community and the influence you can make. For example, students who were in the program and graduated out, are coming back to coach, run the clock, etc.

“I’m starting to see some payback here,” said Senoraske.

He’s also noticed that the athletic teams are working well with other teams and seeing a cohesiveness in the conference.

“I think it’s been a positive venture,” said Senoraske.