MERCER, Wis. -- A dozen people have agreed to serve on a referendum task force in the Mercer School District.

Superintendent Jeff Ehrhardt told the Mercer School Board Tuesday that the group considered three options at a May 20 meeting:

--A referendum to exceed state caps on school taxes.

--Consolidation with another school district.

--Dissolution of the district.

The Mercer district has one year remaining on a referendum to exceed the state levy limit by $250,000 per year for three years.

Consolidation with Hurley, the closest district, would cost Mercer taxpayers more than a new referendum, according to Ehrhardt.

He provided a list of 2007 property valuations for all municipalities in Iron County. The town of Mercer alone accounts for 47 percent of the total county property value, according to those figures.

If the Mercer district were to dissolve, Ehrhardt said, the state would draw new school boundaries to absorb Mercer into other districts.

Ehrhardt said the referendum was "a no brainer" choice for the task force.

Two to Depart

After a closed session, the board accepted the resignation of first-year principal Jody Bognar, who will not return to the job for the 2008-09 school year. Bognar declined Wednesday to talk about her reasons for leaving.

The board also accepted the retirement of Kay Krans, social studies teacher for grades 7 through 12.

She will continue to work as implementation specialist for the Mercer Environmental Tourism Charter School. Pay for that position, which Ehrhardt estimated at between 25 percent and 50 percent of fulltime, comes from the charter school grant.

Ehrhardt said Wednesday that both jobs would be posted.