Breaking News: Racine Unified Board Approves $261 Million Budget

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The Racine Unified School District Board of Education on Monday, June 20, approved a $260.68 million preliminary budget that includes about 125 fewer jobs and serves an estimated 221 fewer students.

However, as School Board members learned, the district will still have to increase the property tax levy by 6.39 percent to make up for reduced state aid and the end of federal economic stimulus funding that the district had used for salaries and programs.

The overall budget spending is an 11.4 percent decrease from the current RUSD budget. However, anticipated state aid cuts totaling $14.98 million contribute to the higher tax levy. The state aid cuts include the impact of a new voucher program that allows parents of 250 students to use state tax money to pay tuition at private schools. The new budget also assumes that property values will decline by an additional 0.5 percent.

 “The damage is significant and it’s not over by any means,” Board Member Don Nielsen said of the state Legislature’s actions. State lawmakers have cut more than $800 million in aid to local public schools in the upcoming state budget.

RUSD’s anticipated property tax levy, based on $8.99 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, translates to $1,348.50 on a $150,000 home. This tax rate is the maximum that RUSD is allowed to levy against local property.