Dec. 19, 2024 noon
(WGTD)---Racine Unified could be joining Kenosha Unified on the list of school districts that feel compelled to ask voters for permission to exceed state-mandated levy limits.
The Racine School Board is expected to vote next month on a plan that would increase property taxes on a home worth $200,000 by $75.
The question could be on the April ballot.
RUSD Superintendent Soren Gajewski says without approval the school board next fall will have to find $24 million in budget reductions.
Gajewski says he’s been in touch with a number of school superintendents in the state. "Almost everyone of them have either passed a referendum in the last two years or is in the process of doing one or trying for the second or third time," he said. "I don't actually know of one offhand that has not been in this predicament," he said.
"The scary thing is that if we don't deal with this at the state level, the kind of haves and have nots and gaps and discrepancies and inequalities across the state is really destrimental to what our future is as a state," he continued.
The districts are being squeezed by inflation, stagnant state aid and the phasing out of federal COVID relief dollars.
In order to balance this year’s budget, RUSD made $20 million in cuts and dipped into reserve funds.
Kenosha Unified has a referendum scheduled for February.
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