Members of the Racine Unified Board of Education Monday will discuss and possibly create a committee to explore how to organize new representation districts now required under state law.
The state’s biennial budget included a provision that creates equal representation districts in the Racine Unified community to give residents who live outside the City of Racine a voice setting policy for the district. When the language was first drafted last May, Rep. Tom Weatherston said the move increased local control.
“This change will provide a greater voice for residents throughout the district,” he said in a written statement. “School board members for Racine Unified will now be elected the same way aldermen are in the City of Racine.”
Population in the new districts would be as equal as possible, and elected representatives for those areas would have to live within the new boundaries. The law is effective immediately and puts all nine Board of Education seats up for grabs next April.
Opponents of the measure say Weatherston, R-Caledonia, and state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, came up with this solution to try and thwart the efforts of Caledonia and Sturtevant residents who are interested in forming independent school districts.
Board President Melvin Hargrove is proposing a seven-person committee that would include himself, two additional BOE members, a business staff member, an RUSD lawyer and two community residents.
The Racine Unified Board of Education meets at 5 p.m. Monday in the board room at the Administration Building, 3109 Mt. Pleasant Street.