Three area school districts are holding referendums Tuesday -- two say it's to avoid the presidential election hoopla and another wants to finalize its budget as soon as possible.

Deerfield, Mineral Point and Weston school districts are each asking to exceed the revenue limit in order to pay for everything from daily operating expenses to maintaining staffing levels.

In Deerfield the district is asking to exceed the revenue limit for five years to address instructional facilities, technology and daily operational needs.

"For us our referendum is considered very nuts and bolts," said Michelle Jensen, superintendent for the Deerfield Community School District. "Nothing great and flashy."

Holding the referendum in September allows the district to have the most accurate budget picture for the 2009-10 school year, Jensen said.

The Deerfield School Board has taken money from the district's fund balance for the past five years, including $289,000 for the 2008-09 school year, to make up for previous budget shortfalls.

Jensen said there isn't a list of programs that will be cut if the referendum fails. But the district may be forced to further deplete the fund balance, she said.

Like Deerfield, the Mineral Point School District also has been using its fund balance to compensate for budget shortfalls. This year the funds are at $1.8 million, down from a high of $2.4 million in 2004.

If the referendum passes, the additional money would go toward maintaining staffing levels, class offerings and extracurricular programs.

"The funds for the referendum are to maintain our current educational programs," said Terry Hemann, district superintendent.

Holding the referendum now allows the funding issue to be the focal point for community members.

"We just didn't want to get lost in the shuffle of the presidential election," he said.

In the Weston School District, officials are asking to exceed the state revenue limit for three years to fund operating costs, ongoing instructional programs and staffing levels.

The district, which has a budget of about $4 million, cut $100,000 in the 2007-08 school year and "we have been going into the fund balance last year and this year," said Tom Andres, district superintendent and principal.

"We no longer have technology education in our shops or family consumer education," he said.

In addition the district's staff and administration no longer leave the building to attend continuing education programs.

"If the referendum doesn't pass, we'll be cutting everything that's not mandated," Andres said. That means eliminating the district's agricultural program, reducing the vocal music department and cutting art, kitchen and custodial staff, he said. "When you look at it, what we'd have left is our core curriculum."

Andres said Weston decided to have its referendum during the primary so it wouldn't be lost in the presidential discussion during the general election this fall, plus the need is immediate.

"We wanted (voters) to really focus on making the decision about this," he said. "The future of Weston depends on what they decide. All the cuts we've made, the referendum won't bring back any of those."