Kenosha Unified School District budget referendum rejected

 

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Kenosha County voters have spoken, saying no to the Kenosha Unified School District's proposed $115 million referendum.

For the upcoming 2025-26 school year, the district is facing around a $19 million deficit. With voters saying no to those proposed extra property tax payments, the district says some hard decisions are going to have to be made.

"There's just some harsh realities we need to face as far as where we are budgetarily and the challenges in front of us," said KUSD Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Weiss.

The unofficial results have been tallied with around 54% voting no and 46% voting yes for KUSD's proposed referendum, which would have provided the district $23 million in funding for the next five years.

Dr. Jeffery Weiss says the plan was for $19 million of that to pay for the district's operation expenses deficit and the rest would have gone towards safety improvements at the seven schools who don’t have controlled safety entrances.

Now, without that funding, Dr. Weiss says they need to cut some costs saying they will be reviewing staffing, class sizes, and restructuring programs offered.

Some voters say they are relieved they don’t have to pay the extra taxes, while others say they are worried about the impact of these potential cuts.

"I am very sad for the children, really sad," said Lynda Koch, who has grandchildren in KUSD. "It will affect the teachers, too."

Last year, the district closed seven schools and merged others saving about $10 million per year. Now, they are facing almost double that in their upcoming school year deficit.