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Board to consider private‑school boundary changes; district outlines transportation responsibilities
Summary
Racine Unified staff presented two proposed boundary adjustments for private schools (Trinity Lutheran and Wisconsin Lutheran) and explained the district's statutory responsibilities to provide transportation where boundaries and distance criteria apply; both schools agreed to the small shifts and the board will vote at its next meeting.
District staff told the Racine Unified School District Board on Monday that two proposed changes to private‑school attendance boundaries — for Trinity Lutheran and Wisconsin Lutheran — do not create overlapping boundaries and have the agreement of the schools, and that the board must review such changes under state law.
"As part of the Racine Unified School District's responsibilities for transportation for private schools, this is a yearly item that comes up," a staff member said. The presenter said the item comes before the board "as required by a state statute" if attendance boundaries change.
Staff said the two changes do not create overlapping boundaries and both schools agreed to the boundary adjustments. Board members raised mapping and clarity questions, including whether Trinity's boundary extended beyond the county line; staff replied that the map's edge aligned with the district boundary and that small printing artifacts made it appear otherwise.
The presentation also summarized who qualifies for district transportation to private schools. "We are required by...the Supreme Court of the United States to provide transportation to both public and private that are under attendance boundary," a staff member said, and explained the qualifying distance is the same as for district schools: students who live two miles or more from the school may qualify for transportation or for a parent‑contract formula determined by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Staff said if the private schools were not in agreement on boundaries, the district would be responsible for initiating negotiations with the state superintendent's office. No vote was taken at the work session; the boundary changes were scheduled for a vote at the next business meeting.
