Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Racine PTA hosted a forum Tuesday for the Racine Unified Board of Education candidates.
A group of about 30 residents attended the Racine PTA's Racine Unified candidates forum Tuesday at Starbuck Middle School. Answering only questions submitted by the audience, each of the six candidates had the opportunity to make their positions known and to give residents a look at what they think the district needs. Running for three available seats on the Board of Education are Robert Wittke, Roger Pfost, incumbent Julie McKenna, Mike Frontier, Kristie Formolo and incumbent Chris Eperjesy. Voters will head to the polls on April 2 to cast a ballot for three of the six candidates. The format Tuesday was simple; the question was read and each candidate had a minute to answer. Here are some highlights from the evening: Are you familiar with…
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Want to learn more about the 10 candidates running for three spots on the school board? Here's your chance.
A school board candidate Forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. today at Starbuck Middle School, 1516 S. Ohio St. Voters in the Racine Unified School District will head to the polls on Feb. 19 to narrow down the field of candidates running for three seats on the School Board. The top six vote-getters in the primary election will earn a trip to the April 2 general election. Check out our Racine Unified primary election coverage.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Hear what five of the six Racine Unified School Board candidates had to say about how they'll fix some of the key problems facing the school district.
Student and parental engagement, neighborhood schools versus charter schools and magnet schools, and solving a budget shortfall topped the list of topics discussed at the Patch/WGTD candidate forum. Brian Dey, Gretchen Warner, Don Nielsen, Scott Brownell and Roger Pfost attended a forum held at the Mount Pleasant Village Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Kim Plache was not able to attend because she was injured in a car crash recently. WGTD recorded the entire forum, click here and here. We’ll have a more complete story up today.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bill Van Atta will be the president for another year.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Racine Unified School District Board of Education retained its slate of officers at its annual reorganization meeting Monday. Bill Van Atta was re-elected School Board president on an 8-1 vote. He was also president in 2009 and 2010. Dennis Wiser received the other vote for president in balloting among board members. Others re-elected to School Board officer posts were: Susan Kutz, vice president; Don Nielsen, treasurer; and Gretchen Warner, clerk. Wiser, Pastor Melvin Hargrove and Pamala Handrow, who were re-elected to three-year terms on April 5, were sworn in by Racine County Circuit Judge Richard J. Kreul. In remarks to the School Board, Judge Kreul, who served on the board in the 1970s, sympathized with members’ challenges and …
Monday, April 25, 2011
At least two members want to be board president.
At least two Racine Unified School District Board of Education members will be seeking the board president post when the group holds its annual reorganization meeting at 4:30 pm tonight, April 25 at the Administrative Service Center, 2220 Northwestern Ave. Bill Van Atta, who has served as School Board president the past two years, plans to seek another one-year term. “I would be interested in continuing. But, somebody else may want to step up as well,” he said. Dennis Wiser, who was re-elected to a second term on April 5, says he plans to toss his hat in the ring “to see how many Board members are unhappy with the way things are.” Wiser has split with the majority of the School Board during the past year on major issues, including placing …
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Positions are being eliminated and those staffers have already been notified, but additional reductions are necessary.
The Racine Unified School District Board of Education will meet in special session today, April 21, to discuss the effect that possible spending cuts may have on staffing the district’s 35 schools. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Administrative Service Center, 2220 Northwestern Ave. District administration at Monday’s School Board meeting proposed $5.2 million in spending cuts to help balance the fiscal 2011-12 budget. The cuts include $764,539 in staffing expenses. Administrators said the cuts are the equivalent of 19 full-time positions and that the affected individuals have been notified. The administration didn’t identify the specific number or types of positions to be cut which prompted the scheduling of Thursday’s work session…
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Board members seek deeper discussion with the public about what losing the referendum means to the school district.
The fate of the three Racine Unified School District referendum questions was sealed as the first votes were tallied Tuesday evening when the wards in the city and the Village of Sturtevant indicated a solid “no.” As the final votes were tallied about three hours later, more than 60 percent of RUSD voters gave a thumbs down to the referendum. The defeat means that RUSD officials must plug a $7.5 million hole in the upcoming 2011-12 budget, deal with a lengthy backlog of building repairs and continue to support an ambitious plan to improve overall student achievement by 2016. District voters turned down an $83.5 million bond issue to construct five new school and remodel five other buildings; a seven-year, $35 million spending increase to …
But the District's purse strings are tied.
Racine Unified School District voters returned three School Board members and resoundingly rejected $128.5 million in referendum spending Tuesday. Pastor Melvin Hargrove, Dennis Wiser and Pamala Handrow were all re-elected to three-year terms on the School Board. They outpolled challengers Patrick Flynn and Roger Pfost. All three school board referendum questions were rejected by wide margins. District officials had hoped that voters would approve referendum questions, which would have created smaller class sizes in 10 elementary schools and paid for staff and programming. The unofficial referendum outcomes were: The defeat of the three referendum questions means that RUSD administrators will have to overcome a $7.5 million deficit in the …
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant citizens can head to the polls from 7 am to 8 pm.
In many cases, where residents live in Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant determines where they cast their vote. The April 5 election includes a number of races including those for President and Trustee as well as for state Supreme Court justice, county executive, school board and three Racine Unified School District referendum questions. Both Caledonia and Mount Pleasant also feature write-in candidates. Caledonia: Wards 1, 2 & 3 - St. Louis Church, 13207 Highway G Wards 1, 2 & 3 - Gifford School, 8332 Northwestern Avenue Wards 7, 8 ,9 & 19 - St. Andrew Church, 1015 - 4 Mile Road Wards 10, 11, 12, 16 & 17 - East Side Community Center, 6156 Douglas Avenue Wards 13, 14 & 15 - Prince of Peace, 4360 6 Mile Road Wards 5, 6 & 18 - Holy …
Monday, March 21, 2011
Teachers have the tools to provide better education, but they are just starting to work through the barriers to education.
Pastor Melvin Hargrove, 44, of 2130 Racine St., Mount Pleasant, is seeking a second term on the Racine Unified School District Board of Education. Appointed to fill an unexpired term on the School Board in 2007 and elected to a full term in 2008, Hargrove wants to continue the initiatives that are under way to improve education. He is founder and pastor of Zoe Outreach Ministries and a member of Concerned Black Men of Racine. The Racine Unified School District has long struggled with an achievement gap between its white students and its students of color. What do you believe can be done to improve the learning of all RUSD students? There needs to be a continued focus on some of the things that (RUSD Superintendent) Dr. Jim Shaw has …
WIwishes
10:08 am on Monday, April 1, 2013
I see you chose not to respond about your stance on vouchers. If you are so concerned about money leaving the district from open enrollements, aren't you concerned about the money from voucher students? more ›