Kenosha Unified seeks five-year, $23 million-a-year referendum to fill budget gap and fund safety upgrades

Chief Financial Officer for Kenosha Unified School District (name not specified) told a public forum that the district will ask voters on Feb. 18 to approve a five-year, nonrecurring operational referendum allowing the district to exceed its state revenue limit by $23 million a year beginning with the 2025–26 school year and expiring after 2029–30.

The measure, the CFO said, is intended to cover an estimated $19 million annual structural deficit, to restore operating items previously funded with temporary federal COVID relief (ESSER) dollars, and to pay debt service for safety upgrades including controlled entrances at seven schools. "It’s actually a $23,000,000 question, and it's for a 5 year period," the CFO said, adding that "all that money will be going to either operational expenses or to safety expenses."

Why it matters: district officials said state funding and Wisconsin's revenue-limit system have not kept pace with rising costs and inflation. The CFO said Kenosha Unified receives roughly $11,300 per pupil under the state formula while larger districts such as Milwaukee and Madison receive materially more, and that those districts' recent operational referenda further widen the funding gap. The district estimates rightsizing and school closures saved about $10 million annually but that enrollment declines and fixed costs still produce the projected $19 million shortfall for 2025–26 without new…