RUSD Referendum Passed — What That Means for Racine
Racine schools gained funding relief, but long-term change requires action from all of us — local leaders, families, and the State of Wisconsin.
The Racine Unified School District’s 2025 operational referendum passed. It was not a flashy vote. No ribbon-cuttings. No groundbreaking ceremonies. This referendum will not build new schools or launch bold new programs. It is a five-year, stopgap measure designed to prevent immediate and irreversible cuts to teaching positions, transportation, and student services.
Shortly after the results were announced, a community member posted a question in Reddit that I feel deserves attention:
“Will this money solve anything? I understand that this sort of funding can provide resources to students which should in turn lead to better results. But is that really the issue that RUSD has in educating? As a community, who do we see is at fault for the failures of our district?”
These are not cynical questions. They reflect concern, care, and the hope that we are not just preserving a system but improving it. The referendum is not a solution. It is a reset point. It is the floor, not the ceiling.
This Was a Vote to Stop Collapse — Not to Declare Success
The referendum does not guarantee better outcomes for students. It does not overhaul district leadership or fix trust issues overnight. What it does is prevent the kind of financial collapse that makes all improvement impossible. Without this funding, RUSD would have faced a $34 million deficit in the next school year. That deficit would have led to widespread layoffs, program cuts, and increased class sizes — not because of waste, but because of revenue limits the district cannot change on its own.
This vote gives Racine five years of breathing room. Not five years of comfort. Not five years of automatic progress. Five years to stabilize and make decisions that should have been possible all along — if the state had done its part.
The Real Problem Starts in Madison
This is not just about RUSD. This is about Wisconsin’s school funding model.
The state imposes strict caps on how much revenue districts can raise, then tells them to ask voters for permission to exceed those limits — just to cover basic costs. Meanwhile, the state’s share of public school funding has failed to keep pace with inflation, enrollment shifts, or growing student needs.
Perhaps most damaging is the state’s failure to cover its legally required share of special education costs. Wisconsin currently reimburses only about 31.5 percent of what districts spend to meet federally mandated SPED services (source | source) which is well below the 70% average nation-wide. The rest comes out of general operating budgets (not federal funds, but local funds), which forces schools to stretch even further to meet all students’ needs.
That is the structural issue. Not just leadership. Not just priorities. Not just performance. The rules are broken. And the people living with the consequences are students, educators, and taxpayers — no matter their zip code.
“Who’s at Fault?” Might Be the Wrong Question
The original comment asked who should be held responsible for RUSD’s failures. The board? The superintendent? Teachers? Parents? Students?
It is understandable to want to assign responsibility. But when every actor in the system is operating within an underfunded, rigid framework — one that was designed elsewhere and never fully adjusted for today’s realities — pointing fingers does little to help.
That does not mean we avoid accountability. RUSD has work to do. Leadership must listen more deeply, communicate more clearly, and earn back public trust. But solving the problem requires asking a better question than “Who is to blame?” The better question is: “Who is willing to take responsibility moving forward?”
This Is About Local Control and Shared Responsibility
Referendums like this exist because local communities have been left to clean up what state policy has broken. Across Wisconsin, communities of all political stripes have voted yes on similar referendum measures — not because they believe schools are perfect, but because they know the cost of disinvestment is far greater.
This vote was not about political identity. It was about stewardship. About saying that Racine deserves time to act — not time to stall, but time to improve.
And that improvement cannot rest solely on those inside the school walls. It will take residents, business owners, local officials, alumni, and advocates to shape a shared vision for the future. It will take both transparency and patience. Both accountability and trust. Both sides of the political aisle, working toward the same goal.
We Move Forward — Or We Fall Behind
Public schools are not a private service. They are a public institution. Even if you do not have children in the system, your neighborhood, your economy, and your quality of life are shaped by whether those schools function.
The referendum gave Racine a chance — not a guarantee. It gave us five years. What we do with them is up to all of us.
Not as critics. Not as partisans. As Wisconsinites.
As people committed to one direction:
Forward.
Full Disclosure: I previously worked for Racine Unified School District and left my position in June 2022. My views here are my own and are based on public data, economic trends, and community impact — not on any past employment with RUSD.
