Racine Unified superintendent seeks $190 million, five-year referendum to shore up budgets and preserve programs

Racine Unified School District Superintendent Lauren Gajewski told a district town hall that the district is asking voters to approve a $190,000,000 nonrecurring referendum on the April 1 ballot to cover projected budget shortfalls and preserve current programs, including early‑literacy initiatives and school safety systems.

Gajewski said the measure would run for five years and is intended to maintain — not expand — existing staffing and services. "This is a non reoccurring referendum," she said, and later summarized the homeowner impact: "The impact would be approximately $35 increase on your property taxes per $100,000 of your property value."

The nut graf: district leaders say persistent gaps between state funding and inflation have created recurring deficits that they cannot close without local support. Gajewski told attendees that a 2009 change in how the state ties school funding to inflation has left many Wisconsin districts facing accumulated revenue losses and that Racine Unified has experienced what she described as roughly $50,000,000 in lost purchasing power over time.

More detail: Gajewski said the district faces an immediate projected deficit of about $24,000,000 for the coming year and forecast rising shortfalls in subsequent years (she presented a five‑year deficit series…