April 5, 2010

Madison schools may need reinvestment referendum, too

It's not just Racine Unified, folks.

A headline on Madison's CapTimes website caught our eye this morning:

Yup, here's another school district facing severe funding issues. The story notes a budget shortfall of $18 million to $30 million, an already-approved tax increase of $127 per year for a $250,000 home, and various schools needing mechanical, plumbing, electrical and roofing upgrades. Two have immediate needs in the $500,000 to $1 million range.

The school board will discuss the "R" word -- referendum -- tonight.

It's deja vu all over again, as they say. As we watch the RUSD board struggle with this issue over coming months, let's also keep an eye on Madison, just in case their board comes up with a solution worth considering here. But one thing is clear: The grass isn't always greener somewhere else...

10 comments:

  1. Geez, if spending a lot of money is good for Madison it must be good for Racine too. It's utopia over there. Right, Pete?

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  2. They (and we) should pull a Jim Doyle trick - just move some $$ from teachers' wages and benefits (lottery or Highway Trust Fund) over to the operating budget areas that need the money.

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  3. The key players in RUSD are now from Madison too. I think it is the culture. Madison can likely afford a referendum. We can't.

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  4. The difference is that Madison is a community that *values education* and amazingly enough, has a better economy, too! So, I bet their taxpayers will be willing to bite the bullet.

    disclaimer - I don't live in either city. But it never fails to amaze me how hostile Racine is to passing referenda to spend money on their schools... and the connection to a poorly educated population and a lousy job market is too obvious to be noted by some.

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  5. Does anyone think anon 1:19pm might be Cory Mason?

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  6. It's absurd to compare Ratscene to Madison, get real.

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  7. Madison heard about the Racine scam, where you don't spend the money on what you told the public!

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  8. Madison has a better economy because of State government. All State capitals, as well as Washington DC, benefit from all the government workers. Follow the money on this one. Of course Madison will do better than the rest of the state in a down economy. That isn't rocket science and not due to much better schools.

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  9. Goo point 3:33. Actually Madison should spread it around a little bit.

    Since their economy is so much better than ours they should actually pay to spruce up Racine schools.

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  10. What % of Madison citizens belong to a union. Simply the State gov & University workers add up to a large #. Will they ever see hardship as with the economy????

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