Unified breakup forum held

RACINE — New legislation aimed at a Racine Unified School District takeover and possible breakup was demonized as a new era of segregation Sunday at a forum put on my state Reps. Cory Mason, D-Racine, and Peter Barca, D-Kenosha at Knapp Community School, 2701 17th St.

Motion 409, approved by the Joint Committee on Finance Aug. 28, is a rider to the state budget, up for a vote this week by both houses of the Legislature, that would govern a possible takeover or breakup of the district.

“Things have been moving in the right direction for Racine Unified for quite a while that’s why we were so startled when, in fact, in the 11th hour this budget amendment came forward,” Barca said. “When there was hearings on the budget — this wasn’t in the budget.”

The Legislature is expected to vote on the state budget starting Tuesday when the Assembly has the bill, Barca said. Motion 409 is a school district creation provision which would allow any of the seven municipalities in which Unified operates, such as Caledonia, to break away from Unified and form its own school district, if the district fails in the report cards coming out this fall. The villages can join together to form a district.

The timing of some of the changes is contingent on changes that the Unified School Board is required to make, under Act 10, to the employee handbook. The proposed handbook goes before the School Board at its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11.

Reagaring the possible changes to Unified, Barca said: “If the handbook is acceptable to the state and Racine Unified fails on the state report card this fall, then it would go into effect next school year … if the handbook is not acceptable to the state, it would go into effect this year. How remarkable is that?”

Knapp, where the forum was held, is one of the 11 Unified schools to which the state Department of Public Instruction gave a failing grade. This year’s report card is to be issued within the next two months.
The timing of some of the changes is contingent on changes that the Unified School Board is required to make, under Act 10, to the employee handbook. The proposed handbook goes before the School Board at its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11.
Knapp, where the forum was held, is one of the 11 Unified schools to which the state Department of Public Instruction gave a failing grade. This year’s report card is to be issued within the next two months.

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