BOSCOBEL - Boscobel Area School District voters gave a narrow victory to the school district’s plans to consolidate at the middle/high school building. 

A higher than average turnout, spurred in part by Wisconsin’s high-profile supreme court races, resulted in 1,658 votes, in the municipalities within the district, according to unofficial election results tabulated by district officials. 

871, or 52.5 percent, of those votes were in favor of the referendum, which would raise taxes to pay for new classroom space at the middle/high school, while closing the Rock building. 

In a written statement, District Administrator Lisa Wallin-Kapinus thanked voters for their support: “We sincerely appreciate the community engagement and input that helped shape the proposed plan, including those who came to our community conversation presentations and participated in our Facility Advisory Committee last year. The approval of the facilities referendum is a testament to how deeply our community values high-quality public schools,” she wrote. 

In the one contested board seat, Todd Miller, board president, retained his seat with 900 votes against challenger Cherryl Knowles 666, in the unofficial tally. 

Other races

In the race for Grant County judge, Lisa Riniker beat challenger Jennifer Day for the vacant seat on the bench. The City of Boscobel voted 389 to 396 for Riniker, who took the judgeship county-wide with 53 percent of the vote. 

The city also mirrored statewide results in the supreme court race, handing Janet Protasiewicz a victory with nearly 55 percent of the local vote—what passes for a landslide in Wisconsin’s 50/50 voter split.