WHEATLAND — School officials here haven’t said what will happen if voters don’t allow the district to continue to exceed its revenue limit on Tuesday, but voters don’t have to look far to get an idea.

Last May, after multiple referendums to increase the revenue limit by $1.16 million failed, the Salem Board of Education laid off 16 teachers, 13 of them full-timers. It also completely cut all funding for extracurricular programs, including sports.

The Salem Booster Club, a non-profit organization, has since formed to raise money and administer extra-curricular programing.

Likewise, voters in the Paris School District were faced with an ultimatum — approve a referendum to exceed the revenue cap or see the district dissolved.

Though a similar referendum failed in April, it passed in June, allowing the district to exceed its revenue limits for three years — by $435,000 in the first year, $495,000 in the second and $585,000 in the third.

The Wheatland School Board is asking to continue exceeding the revenue cap by $300,000. It is a measure voters approved four years ago that lapsed with the 2008-09 school year. Residents rejected this request last spring by 43 votes.

If the referendum passes, the tax rate would increase from $6.73 per $1,000 of equalized property value to $7.40. That translates into a $134 jump for the owner of a $200,000 home, from $1,346 a year to $1,480.

The levy will support general fund expenditures of $5,645,400, which the board managed to trim by $41,960, from $5,687,360 this year.

Interim administrator Conrad Chaffee said the additional funds are “crucial” given the loss of state aid to the district and the need to continue to increase the district’s fund balance.

While no specific cuts are being proposed if the referendum fails, Chaffee said they would be inevitable.

“If you can’t raise your revenue, you have to cut your expenditures,” Chaffee said. “Down the line it could mean staff cuts or cuts to educational programming.”

Or, the district may need to look at other ways to manage costs, including consolidating with another district. One possible candidate for consolidation is Riverview School in Silver Lake, which is also looking for a new administrator.

Again, the board — which hasn’t officially discussed consolidation and isn’t saying this would happen if the referendum fails — wouldn’t have to look far to find an example. Schools in Trevor and Wilmot recently consolidated, and the combined district is building a healthy fund balance with the consolidation aid it gets from the state.

If fact, the Trevor-Wilmot School Board voted last week to approve a levy less than its limit given an unexpected $207,000 increase in consolidation aid. It used that extra money to reduce the burden on taxpayers.