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 local revenue.

What the referendum would fund: the district presented an allocation outline to the public. Key figures provided by officials were: - $19 million a year toward operating needs and to close the structural deficit; - $3 million a year allocated to debt service to finance roughly $12.5 million in work to add controlled entrances and other security upgrades at seven schools (the district would borrow up front and repay over five years); - restoration of several line items previously covered by ESSER including a technology refresh (about $1 million), major maintenance ($1 million), summer school and other COVID-funded items (more than $2 million), curriculum adoption (about $2 million), and an estimated $4 million from an 11% rise in health insurance and salary-related adjustments.

Officials said the district will publish an itemized use-of-funds breakdown on the referendum FAQ page at kusd.edu/referendum. The CFO acknowledged some figures would be posted after the presentation: "we'll include that in our FAQ, and we'll detail it," they said.

Security and safety: following a safety incident at Roosevelt, the district proposed adding controlled entrances at seven buildings and other security work. The CFO said the construction is estimated at about $12.5 million and that the $3 million annual figure in the referendum represents expected debt service. Bill Hathcock, chief of schools, said a district committee that includes Kenosha Police Department representation has met and will report to the board; he said a special board meeting on the 16th will review existing security measures and committee recommendations.

Trade-offs if the referendum fails: district officials repeatedly told attendees that failure to pass the referendum would force further cuts. The CFO listed possible actions under consideration, including increased class sizes, cuts to programming (AP courses, arts, athletics and other nonrequired offerings), pauses on curriculum adoptions, reduced maintenance, and salary freezes. "We wouldn't necessarily have to cut $19,000,000 immediately," the CFO said, "but 19,000,000 is that deficit for 25, 26." Officials said board deliberations would determine exact reductions.

Questions from the public and staff responses: the forum was largely a Q&A. Attendees asked whether the $23 million is an annual or one-time amount (the CFO replied it is $23 million per year for five years), why the referendum covers five years (the district cited birth-rate projections and a community input process that recommended five years), how rent-paying tenants could be affected (property owners pay the levy and rents could rise if landlords pass costs on), and why previous rightsizing did not eliminate the need for a referendum (district leaders pointed to temporary federal funding and unchanged state revenue limits). On special education funding, the CFO said the district receives roughly one-third reimbursement for special-education costs under state allocations and that local funds must cover the remainder.

Context and background: presenters said the district avoided an operational referendum until now, undertaken "rightsizing" and school closures that produced about $10 million in annual savings, and has relied on one-time federal stimulus funds that are now exhausted. The CFO and staff framed the request as temporary: the referendum is nonrecurring and would expire after the five-year period. Officials also described the state's funding mechanism (the revenue limit) and cited Act 20 / the Science of Reading law as an example of a state mandate the district must implement but said state funding for such mandates is insufficient.

Next steps: the presentation encouraged residents to submit additional questions through the district's referendum webpage and reiterated the Feb. 18 referendum date. The CFO and staff said detailed line-item uses and FAQs will be posted online and that the district will present security-committee findings to the board at a scheduled meeting.

Ending note: district leaders emphasized the referendum is intended to preserve current class sizes and programs and to avoid deeper cuts while acknowledging the measure is a short-term, local response to broader state funding and demographic trends.