Unified, REA agree on federal funding

RUSD and its teachers union are in agreement on federal funding. They want it.

RUSD's Shaw and REA's Urso sign the memorandum

Leaders of Racine Unified from both sides of the bargaining table signed a Memorandum of Understanding supporting the state's Race to the Top grant application. Without it, the district could not participate in Phase Two of the Race to the Top; with it, Unified culd receive between $4.5 million and $7 million in federal funding.

IF Wisconsin receives the grant -- and it's a big if, since the state finished in 26th place in Phase One -- Wisconsin could receive up to $250 million in funding.

On Thursday Racine Education Association Executive Director Steve Urso and REA President Pete Knotek met with RUSD Supt. Dr. Jim Shaw and  Deputy Supt. Alan Harris to sign the memorandum of understanding. RUSD Board VP Sue Kutz also signed it earlier in the week.

 The memorandums were sent out on May 6 by Gov. Jim Doyle and State Supt. Tony Evers; school district leaders had until May 21 to sign and return them.

“We have come together with district leadership to sign this MOU because we feel that the state’s Phase Two application is strong and we’re very hopeful Wisconsin will receive a grant,” said Urso. “We look forward to the opportunity to work together if that happens.”

Despite Wisconsin's poor showing in the first round, several changes have been made to improve the application for Phase Two. To review the state’s application, visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website. The state must submit its Phase Two Race to the Top application by June 1. The U.S. Department of Education will announce grant winners in September.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Phase One winners in March -- Delaware and Tennessee. In all, some $4.25 billion is available, to spur states to develop innovating education-reform plans.

Racine teachers union head resigns; Whitman leaves for job in Tampa

Racine Unified's teachers and educational assistants were already in for tough negotiations this summer with the school district facing an unexpected $8.2 million budget deficit. And now they're heading into negotiations minus an executive director.

REA and REAA Executive Director Nick Whitman (right) announced this week he was resigning after less than two years on the job. Whitman, hired in December 2007, is leaving Unified to lead a teacher's union in Tampa, Fla. He notified the Racine Education UniServ Council (REUC) of his resignation on Wednesday.

In his letter, Whitman said REUC would work toward hiring an interim executive director while a search is conducted for a permanent director. He also said the Wisconsin Education Association Council will support the local teachers and educational assistants unions in the interim period.

Whitman picked a difficult time to leave. Racine Unified needs to bridge an $8.2 million budget deficit this summer and fall by raising property taxes and cutting services. Unified's Board of Education could raise taxes 12 percent to $8.09 per $1,000 of assessed value to offset the deficit, but the district said in a statement this week it was already working with its labor unions to cut costs.

The district's statement said, in part:

Racine Unified is going to face some tough decisions related to that loss in state aid. However the District’s Board of Education does not have to make those tough decisions alone. Instead, the leaders of the unions representing the various District employee groups anticipate having the opportunity to work closely with Administrators and School Board members to ensure that all options are reviewed and that the budgetary focus remains on improving educational quality as outlined in the jointly created and recently adopted North Star Vision.

While the District and Union Leaders began meeting today regarding the budgetary situation, the specifics of those discussions cannot be shared at this time as they may impact contract negotiations.

Whitman is leaving to represent teachers in the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association in Tampa. He'll be executive director of an organization with 15,000 teachers and 8,000 educational assistants. It's the eighth-largest school district in the country.