Kenosha Voters Reject $115M School Referendum; Superintendent Warns of “Difficult Decisions”

KENOSHA, Wis. – (WRJN) — Voters in Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, and Somers rejected a $115 million referendum for the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) on Tuesday. The measure sought to address a projected $19 million budget deficit.

The referendum would have allowed KUSD to exceed its state-imposed revenue limit by $23 million annually for five years. District officials cited declining enrollment and rising costs as reasons for the funding request.

Opponents expressed skepticism about the district’s financial management and administrative practices.

In response to the defeat, KUSD Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Weiss said, “This outcome does not diminish our community’s strong support for our schools. Unfortunately, we must now make difficult decisions regarding potential reductions to programs, services and staffing to ensure a balanced budget for the coming school year”.

The unofficial vote count stood at 10,586 against and 9,048 in favor of the referendum. The results are pending certification by the Kenosha County Board of Canvassers on Feb. 24.

In other Kenosha Unified results, four candidates advanced to the April 1 election for two open KUSD School Board seats. Rebecca Stevens, Andreas Mamalakis, Valerie Kretchmer, and Carl Bryan move on to April.

The Racine Unified School District is proposing an operational referendum on April 1, seeking to increase the district’s revenue limit by $190 million over five years.

Below is the statement released this morning from KUSD