KENOSHA — Kenosha Unified School District families are facing a difficult reality — a projected $17 million deficit that could mean the elimination of sports programs, fine arts, and dozens of teaching positions unless voters approve an operational referendum in November.
At Tuesday night's board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Weiss was direct about the severity of the situation.
"We can't continue along that path or we'll blow through it — because it compounds year after year as insurance costs go up, health insurance goes up, cost of doing business goes up with inflation," Weiss said. "This is high stakes."
The district has released a list of proposed budget cuts for the 2027-28 school year if the referendum does not pass — and the options are significant.
Among them, eliminating all high school athletics, saving $2 million; reducing 34 secondary teacher positions, saving $3.4 million; increasing class sizes by two students at every level; eliminating middle school sports; eliminating fine arts programming and fifth-grade elementary music lessons; and potentially transitioning or eliminating Reuther High School. No final decisions have been made.
Watch: KUSD parents react as district faces $17M deficit & potential cuts to programs
For parent Amanda Meyer, who attended Tuesday's meeting, the proposed cuts are deeply personal.
"They're basically saying that the people who are in charge of our children all day are disposable," Meyer said. "They don't want to invest in extracurriculars — something that will broaden a child's mind and make them more successful adults."
Parent Nicole Rios says cutting programs should be the absolute last resort.
"That should be the last solution, not at the top," Rios said. "We shouldn’t put a dollar sign on these kids education, it is their right to have proper education and it’s unacceptable for you to look at a way of saving for cutting these kids resources. If you gotta do a fundraiser to bring KUSD money — well then let's do that. Do something."
The district will conduct a community survey from June 29th through July 11th to gauge support for a referendum. The board must approve final ballot language by August 25th for the question to appear on the November 3rd ballot.
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