DeKalb’s school district will have to find a way to accommodate a growing student body on a decreasing budget, said Paul Beilfuss, the new district superintendent.

“I expect DeKalb to continue to grow. Most of the time you’d like to have classes no larger than 25 students,” he said.

With an increasing enrollment and a decreasing budget, smaller classes, while preferable, are improbable, Beilfuss said.

“Over three years [in Wayzata, Minn.], we have adjusted our budget [by] $8.5 million. When you have little or no control over revenue, you have to cut expenditures. Unfortunately, that means larger class sizes,” he said.

Another challenge Beilfuss faces is finding a way to get a referendum passed in a community that has rejected three in the last 2 1/2 years.

“The first step will be to research the community to determine what the issues are,” he said. “We’ll conduct a survey to determine why the residents don’t want to support a referendum.”

Beilfuss said past referendums have been hindered by misunderstanding among community members.

“Sometimes the facts can be distorted or misconstrued,” he said. “We need to make sure everyone knows the facts; then we can say what it will cost to construct a facility and deal with the dispute of taxes that came up with earlier referendums.”

A major objective of the new referendum will be to renovate existing schools, Beilfuss said.

“We have a responsibility to provide the programs spaces to work effectively,” he said. “Years ago, there weren’t the computers, there wasn’t the technology, there wasn’t the space set aside for special education students. The spaces have changed; the expectations have changed. It’s very important that the students and the staff are comfortable.”

It is unclear whether the referendum will include constructing new facilities.

“I have to study the demographics, and I don’t know yet where the growth is occurring. Until we attend to that, it’s uncertain,” Beilfuss said. “I have to get a better grasp of the expectations of the community, of the concerns the community has.”

He said that he then will approach the community as a group of voters. After that, he said, it would have to be run like a political campaign.

Beilfuss said details of a new referendum may be presented sometime in the spring.