Nathan Hale – A Special to Kenosha County Eye – Opinion
The Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) is once again under fire—this time for actively silencing dissenting voices on its official Facebook page and attempting to rig the upcoming referendum with taxpayer-funded propaganda and outside dark money. Numerous residents who voiced opposition to the district’s massive $115 million referendum reported that their comments were mysteriously deleted. Instead of fostering an open dialogue, KUSD appears to be manipulating public discourse to push its tax hike agenda.
When confronted about this blatant censorship, KUSD issued a weak excuse, claiming that a “duplicate post” was deleted due to a “glitch,” which inadvertently removed all comments associated with it. While the district insists that this was unintentional, the fact remains: comments criticizing the referendum were erased, raising serious concerns about transparency and free speech.
The deletion of public comments on a government-controlled social media page isn’t just unethical—it’s likely unconstitutional. Courts have consistently ruled that government entities cannot engage in viewpoint discrimination on social media. In Packingham v. North Carolina (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that social media serves as a modern public forum where citizens have the right to express their views. Similarly, Lindke v. Freed (2022) reaffirmed that removing critical comments from a government-run platform can violate First Amendment protections.
Furthermore, under Wisconsin Open Records Law (Wis. Stat. § 19.31–19.39), these deleted comments may be considered public records. If KUSD is removing public input without proper retention, it could be in violation of state law—yet another example of the district operating in secrecy and disregarding accountability.
This latest controversy is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to KUSD’s failures. Over the past six months, a disturbing pattern of misconduct, financial mismanagement, and ethical lapses has plagued the district. Consider the following:
- A teacher at Indian Trail High School was caught keeping a secret bed in a locked storage closet and lying to the principal.
- KTEC, a once-successful charter school, is shutting down due to financial misconduct.
- A fired KUSD employee was allegedly grooming multiple students.
- A KUSD teacher disciplined for misconduct was quietly transferred to an online eSchool program instead of being removed.
- An Indian Trail math teacher retained his job despite making anti-Semitic remarks and allegedly blowing a kiss toward a student.
- An Indian Trail cheer coach was fired after leaving a two-month-old baby alone at practice for 90 minutes, amid additional financial concerns.
- KUSD concealed referendum survey results from the public.
- KUSD Superintendent Jeff Weiss was successfully sued for refusing to release public records related to serious misconduct.
Now, KUSD is spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in a desperate attempt to manipulate voters into supporting this unnecessary tax hike:
- Referendum Mailer: $14,598.17 on printing and postage for 54,395 copies, costing ~$0.27 per household.
- Community Report (featuring the referendum): $14,465.03 on printing and postage for 56,000 copies, costing ~$0.26 per household.
Beyond these unethical expenditures, KUSD has engaged in blatant electioneering:
- Choral Fest Advocacy: A guest conductor at the KUSD Choral Fest used the event as a platform to push for the referendum, turning what should have been a celebration of music into a political rally.
- Law Enforcement Database Access Cut: KUSD restricted law enforcement access to the student database, citing privacy concerns, despite serious safety implications.
- Sexual Assault Cover-Up: A 10-year-old girl remains too terrified to return to school after being sexually assaulted on a bus, yet KUSD has failed to take proper action.
- Fear-Mongering Emails: The principal of Whittier Elementary sent an email attempting to scare parents into voting yes, a clear attempt at manipulation.
- Indian Trail Referendum Signs: Pro-referendum signs were posted inside Indian Trail High School and Academy for weeks. KUSD justified this by claiming the flyers were not district-promoted or funded. Is this morally acceptable?
- Teacher Electioneering: Jennifer Sepanski, a far-left activist and teacher at Bradford High School, openly campaigned for the referendum while on duty inside a taxpayer-funded building. A KUSD spokesperson stated this was “allowed.” Should it be?
Adding to the corruption, a dark money group has been pouring outside funds into this election to manipulate Kenosha voters. A significant portion of these funds have come from the Milwaukee Teachers’ Union, a group whose own district—Milwaukee Public Schools—has been driven into financial ruin and may soon require a state bailout. Milwaukee schools currently suffer from record-low test scores, yet their teachers’ union believes they should influence Kenosha’s schools?
KUSD’s own student performance is abysmal. Only 24% of KUSD students are proficient in math, and just 27% are proficient in reading, according to the latest state test results. Despite these dismal outcomes, KUSD wants taxpayers to believe more money will fix the problem. The district’s leadership has failed to improve academic performance while mismanaging finances and tolerating misconduct.
This is the reality of KUSD today: an administration that tolerates misconduct, mismanages finances, and actively censors public opposition while allowing outside special interests to manipulate local elections. And now, they’re asking Kenosha taxpayers for a $115 million blank check?
The KUSD administration and school board have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted. The district has failed to provide transparency, failed to protect students, and failed to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. Now, with a referendum on the ballot, they are resorting to censorship and dishonesty to push their failing agenda.
Kenosha residents must take a stand. It’s time to send a clear message: No more corruption. No more secrecy. No more wasted tax dollars.
On February 18, vote NO.
107 Responses
It’s easy to complain…if you’re so perfect I think you can do no better especially when it comes to school lol, I encourage you to run for a school board position, or go get certified to be a teacher then get your administrative certificate and then apply for a position within the Kenosha Unified School District.
You offered no evidence of your statements, just innuendos.
I am not in favor of the referendum but before you start complaining offer concrete proof and be a part of the solution instead!
Taking Information down on government sites is the exact playbook dictator Trump and President Musk are doing as well to the American people.
You really just used your TDS to bring trump into this article? You feel accomplished? Probably thought you did something there don’t ya
LMAO here come the libs! Grab some tissue
Lisa, showing off your mental deficiencies is not the flex you think it is.
In fairness, Lisa, KCE has been documenting and reporting on these issues for months. They reflect a School Board and ESC Leadership Team that lacks institutional control over the conduct of employees. Additionally, their consistent lack of transparency reflects an arrogance and sense of entitlement that flies in the face of their obligation to the children and taxpayers of Kenosha.
I will agree with you that the issues listed here do not fully get to the core of why this Referendum needs to be defeated. The Referendum is an irresponsible effort to get the people of Kenosha to bail out the School Board and ESC Leadership for their gross mismanagement of KUSD staffing, COVID/ Esser funds, and educational priorities over the last 10-20 years.
Here are some Statistics:
2013/2014 – 22,602 Students 1638 Teachers 134 Administrators 238 ESC
2023/2024 – 18,711 Students 1674 Teachers 166 Administrators 320 ESC
KUSD student enrollment has decreased 17% over the last ten years. A responsible School Board and ESC Leadership Team would have been simultaneously been reducing Teaching Staff, Administrators, and ESC Staff by a similar 17% through attrition during this time in a relatively painless manner. That’s Common Sense and sound management.
Did they do that ?….Nope….They have actually increased staffing over the last ten years.
That’s not just irresponsible….that is pure stupidity. The citizens of Kenosha have entrusted these people with not only our children’s education, but with a $320,000,000 budget which they failed to manage despite obvious and well known warnings that enrollment was falling. This current budget crisis is a result of either willful malfeasance or stupid people making decisions that were outside their intellectual capacity.
Think about this. Regarding Teachers alone, a 17% reduction in staffing from 2013/2014 levels would mean 314 fewer Teachers than are currently on KUSD payroll. This would not be a CUT in staffing. It would be the same exact Student – Teacher ratio in 2024 as what existed in 2014. So what are these 314 excess Teachers costing us? Well, an average KUSD Teacher Compensation Package (Salary, Retirement, Health Insurance, Unemployment Tax, Work Comp Insurance, etc….) is likely around $100,000. Those 314 excess Teachers are costing the taxpayers $31,400,000 every year. Add to that similar savings that could be had from excess Administrators and ESC Leadership, and KUSD should be running a large surplus TODAY…. Not trying to con you into approving a $23 Million annual tax increase.
These people can’t even argue that this massive increase in staffing has improved Student Outcomes over the past ten years. By every Objective Metric, the quality of education in Kenosha has declined in that time. These people think they are running a Jobs Program. Representing this Referendum as “ For the Kids” is blatant false advertising. It is a money grab for people who have demonstrated that they are intellectually incapable of managing a budget or producing improved Student Outcomes.
We can do better.
Yes, it would be painful to layoff the 400-500 positions necessary to fix the Budget. However, there isn’t a Business in town that wouldn’t be required to do the same thing to remain solvent and avoid Bankruptcy.
This can be fixed.
The first step is to defeat this ridiculous Referendum. Then, yes, virtually the entire School Board, and the entire KUSD Leadership team needs to be cleared out. There are people out there who would truly have your children’s best interests at heart who could lead the KUSD. The current Clown Car running KUSD only cares about lining their own pockets and pushing their own twisted political agendas. They have proven that they are not smart enough or possessing the character required to manage the task at hand. They need to go.
Enough is enough of this nonsense.
WTF is going on at that ESC building? Why so many employees over there?
It is a culture of two people doing work that could and should be accomplished by one. But don’t kid yourself, the same applies to the KUSD Teacher and Administrator population as well. To add salt to the wound, a large portion of this Referendum is ADDING more staff so that High School Teachers can have an EXTRA HOUR of Prep Time every day. This means that they want to work even less for more money.
How exactly is that “For the Kids”?
Oversimplified lies.
Where is the lie?
Do tell.
314 teachers is drastically overly simplified and not accurate. Either you don’t know what you’re talking about or you are operating with malicious intent. Knowing all too many of the magat regressives in this group I believe it’s willful malicious disinformation. Hope you all have the life you deserve.
314 is exactly accurate.
Multiply the 1638 Teachers from 2013/2014 by 17% and you get 278 positions. Add the extra 36 positions added since 2013/2014 to that and you get the total of 314.
Had you been my student when I was a Teacher in KUSD back in the day, you would have learned how to make that calculation.
So, again, the number of 314 excess Teacher positions is 100% accurate. It turns out that you are the one who doesn’t know what you are talking about…..lol.
Any other “Lies” you wish to point out ?
And there it is. You think that number is accurate but you’re missing a piece of the puzzle.
Well, Lisa is an idiot, so we probably shouldn’t pay too much attention to her little rant. Tear it all down and try over. You sound like you’re running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, accusing lies but not stating exactly what the lies are. Thanks for helping defeat the referendum, I appreciate your enthusiasm.
Do your own research
OMG! That is exactly what I was saying. Maybe we should be more diligent on hiring personnel. They closed 6 schools in Kenosha last year. What is wrong with the board. Something seriously wrong here!
Just for shits and giggles I wonder how many more firemen we have now than we did 10 years ago.I believe the Kenosha population has declined some.
Hey Jorge !
Fair question.
City of Kenosha Population 2014 – 99,660 2024 – 100,051 (Quick Google Search with numbers provided by AI)
I do not have the numbers on the number of Fire/Rescue employees over the last 10 years. Why don’t you research that and get back to us?
Some comments/questions:
As KUSD Student Outcomes have declined in the last ten years, please research the Metrics of Excellence for Kenosha Fire. Are they improved or no?
As KUSD funding is based upon Student Enrollment, what is Kenosha Fire based upon? Population, Annual Responses, Number of Square Miles of Coverage?
As KUSD is currently staffed at over 400 positions above 2014 “Apple to Apple” levels, please be sure you run that calculation for us for Kenosha Fire.
Has Kenosha Fire proposed a Referendum demanding $115 Million in increased taxes? $55 Million? , $15 Million? A $100 Bucks?
I have provided those answers to most of these questions regarding the Referendum….and the irrefutable facts reflect very poorly on the School Board, KUSD Leadership, KEA, and Education Establishment.
I understand that your comment came with a degree of Snark, but you really should come with statistics, facts, and educated insight on the topic.
I respect your question and would be happy to exchange thoughts with you on the topic…. But, I suspect most people who read both my commentary and yours will be of the opinion that you are not too bright.
Had you been a Student of mine back in my KUSD days, I can assure you that you would have been better coached on how to frame an argument.
I look forward to your research on Kenosha Fire !!
Actually smart guy,we have built new fire stations and extensively remodeled existing stations.Sorry don’t have the specifics or as much time as you apparently.
Hey Jorge’s Friend !!
Well, we also have built and remodeled schools over the last ten years, but you failed to answer any of my valid questions.
The issue at hand is not infrastructure….it is comparing Staffing Levels from 2013/2014 versus today. Please stay on topic. I did not try to create an analogy to my KUSD concerns using Kenosha Fire. Jorge did. I am happy to have a rationale conversation with you, however, you need to bring the facts to support your position.
At this point, you are embarrassing yourself by not doing the research or being able to present a cogent argument.
Be better.
BRAVO! From a former lifelong Kenosha who is so happy to have left “the bubble”
Shut up
Kenosha eye doesn’t print the truth, its a mini fox news, full of alt-right lies and propaganda
I would ask around and see if anyone has some mouthwash to get the orange out of your mouth. I hope your are not a teacher or a mother because you’re crazy.
No one understands what you even mean. Try harder next time.
Scum
Well, Lisa is an idiot, so we probably shouldn’t pay too much attention to her little rant. Tear it all down and try over.
You must be new here….Lol! All facts have been given more than once on KCE. Maybe read an article or 2 before YOU complain. Personally, I think people should Homeschool. Apparently, parents are doing a better job than the local KUSD teachers. But you go ahead and flash all those years of studying in everyone’s faces to be a public school teacher, but let’s also flash those public school student results for everyone to see as well( as KCE has already done in past articles). Stand proud in your failure to teach the kids simple reading, writing, and arithmetic by hiding behind your worthless degree. Get your facts straight. Do some research.
“I am not in favor of the referendum BUT”…
Then go on a typical liberal screed….Ya, you are a very hard yes on the referendum. Liar.
If I’m paying, I have every right to complain if what I’m paying for is not what I am getting. If I am in a fine restaurant and my steak comes charred and everything else taste like poop, whether or not I have the cooking skills to do better has nothing to do with the situation and that meal needs to be remade or I need to walk out without charge. Likewise if the pilot bounces down the runway like a landing pogo stick and there’s no turbulence from other planes or so much as a breeze in the weather, it doesn’t matter whether or not I can fly a plane. I certainly have the right to say the pilot made a crappy landing.
Have you been following all of the horrible issues with KUSD over the past few years? Kevin has. His regular readership has. You sound like a troubled KUSD employee who wants some extra bennies if this $115 MILLION referendum goes through. Try not to be so transparent and try to applaud those who are trying to SAVE you and me MONEY
Nice but feeble attempt at gaslighting us, but we’re not buying it anymore. KUSD is an embarrassment for us .
I hate posts like this. I don’t need to fucking run for the school board to let you know you are doing a shitty ass job.
Facts were stated, or are you a recent grad of KUSD that can’t read?
There are many good points cited in this piece. However, the cutting off law enforcement access to the student data base is completely flipped. The outrage should actually be that the police were given access to this data in the past, if they.in fact, were.
It the school district actually had granted them access, that was a violation of federal law and that is the real scandal. I wish a journalist would determine what is actually true.
That’s what you pull out of this? 🤦🏼♀️
You are right. You can’t fix stupid.
It amazes me how you and many others are incapable of understanding and having logical outrage if the school district was violating federal law and providing the police with access to the records.
It would be the same as medical providers allowing police to page through their medical records.
Hardly. There’s many a way to show addresses and legal status of students without breaking HIPAA.
But good effort and trying to sound smart, better luck next time.
HIPAA is a fallacy, so is the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus. There is no privacy in this country at all anymore. Your smart phone is a government tracking device with pretty apps so you won’t notice. All phone companies, ISP’s are in bed with the government to spy on you. Flock cameras are the latest data capturing device with the sales pitch to public that they only record license plates.
100% correct
News flash, they can and do page through your medical records and it’s legal though not what this article is about. Just thank the Patriot Act.
911 staged event started it all
Not the same…damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If a student is a known threat, actions will be taken….but if there are no knowns…..and children are hurt or killed who do you think everyone will blame????
It was probably the school resource officers who had access. A very limited number and for safety reasons access for those police officers is warranted. Doesn’t it seem odd Resource officers have been in schools for many years, FERPA has been around longer and all of a sudden access gets pulled?? Something is odd with timing.
Maybe it was just the school resource officers who had access. I suppose they could have had limited access to parts of the data. But now, no one knows. Someone should find out the extent of the police access. That could be the very big story.
If the police had access, even access only by the school resource officers, that was unfettered, that is a serious problem that everyone seems to be missing.
In a well run district that complies with the law, even teachers and other school staff don’t have access to the full data set. Access is limited to only those students they work with and even that data is limited to what they need to know.
They pulled the access so that the data doesn’t go to ICE.
NotADemocrap…..
BINGO !!
It was Tanya Ruder
it is good they had it!
Those Board Members by law are Tax Paying Residents of the District.
So anyone that is directly affected or paying for this district can step up and run for board.
The reality is, that they then are responsible for the hiring and firing of everyone ! And some people just don’t know how to do that. That is what needs to be done. A house cleaning of administrative staff.
But who knows how to do that ?
KUSD is such a huge MACHINE that it almost runs by itself. On autopilot. Nobody takes responsibility because nobody faces discipline or recourse for doing wrong.
People need to gather and recruit and run a slate of candidates to get on the school board. Multiple election cycles to get this changed. But until then it’s just one bad news story after another.
You can’t turn an aircraft carrier around on a dime. But we can start turning this school board around by electing conservative candidates as we have opportunity tomorrow. Vote Kretchmer and Mamalakis to the school board and Kinsner to the state superintendent position.
Vote for misery and downfall! Down with teachers, down with education.
Yes! Down with all of them and start fresh!
Where is the start fresh plan? This isn’t even a serious argument and you know it isn’t workable.
For many parents, it’s homeschool time. Government schools will never have their kids best interests.
Gross
Homeschool
Where is the education?
moron
FAT admin, just like our government. Auditing needs to be done, and an accounting for all expenses and duplicative roles. Do you really need three expensive Principals in one school????
You people are sick in the head. What a bunch of crybabies.
Just look at the results of the education! Hahahaha
Imagine that this is a business and only 24% and 27% of your product is acceptable.
You would close down tomorrow.
What time are polls closed?
They open Wednesday at 7am and close at 8pm
Tuesday
Yes. That’s right. The people who want to vote YES for the referendum vote on Wednesday. The people who want to vote NO, vote on Tuesday.
This is too funny!
If Biden was still in office, he would send the entire force of his DOJ on you for false info.
Thank god that cretin and his brown-shirted thugs are no longer around….
Kusd supporter
How about the $300000 scoreboard at Indiana trail that replaced a perfect fine one that worked.
How about the principal pay scale when Kencht is the highest paid with least amount of experience and all the trouble when he was AD with sex groomers in coaching and then all the debacles at temper
Who actually paid for it?
Nice try, paid for by fundraising and boosters.
Nope- taken out of ITHS buildibg budget over a few years
excellent point!
Please, folks, don’t let a little cold air keep you from going to vote. It could cost you millions…
The jealousy runs hard with this group
Jealousy? You think to highly of yourself and teachers and administrators.
It’s not jealousy, its anger. Anger at the way tax dollars are spent. Anger at teachers unions that always ask for more but give less. Anger at the multimillion dollar pensions some of these “public servants” get when they contribute so little to their own pensions. Anger at the gaming of the system to fill their pockets at our expense.
100%
You may or may not know this, but the KUSD actually pays for BOTH the Employer and Employee portion of the Pension plan.
Teacher compensation in KUSD is not just Salary. It is 90% on Health Insurance, 100% of Pension, Payroll Tax, Unemployment Tax, Work Comp Insurance, and TEN “sick” days every year, etc…. The top end Teachers are receiving Total Compensation Packages that are over $150,000 in value.
That’s in addition to only working 9 months per year, 3 weeks of built in time off during the School Year, no Holidays, no Weekends, no Evenings.
In addition, the Teacher Contract only requires 35 Hours work per week. You all should sit and watch the Staff Parking Lot at 3:00…or whenever the 7 Hour Workday ends at a particular school. It’s like the Running of the Bulls as these folks charge to their cars to head home.
And when I say 35 Hours per week, that’s being in the building. They obviously get a Lunch period and “Prep” time. If the Referendum passes, High School Teachers will now receive TWO full periods of Prep Time which generally amounts to pulling out the same Lesson Plans, Notes, and Materials they used the last five years when they taught the same Class/Lesson. What most people would define as “work” will probably amount to something closer to 25 Hours per week for High School Teachers if the Referendum passes.
Make no mistake, there are plenty of caring and dedicated Teachers who take Ownership to do Whatever it Takes for their students. But it sure isn’t 95% of them…..or even 50%….and honestly….not even 33%.
When people say that Teachers are “underpaid”…. I can tell you that the reality of what goes on in KUSD does not support that opinion.
Why are people so abundantly against funding education in this city? What do you think is going to happen if they eliminate the Department of Education? Where do you think that money for schools will come from? It will come from the state in the form of taxes.
Huh? That “education” you speak of only produces 24 out of 100 students that align with educational guidelines. How is less than a 25% performance rating OK? Not in teaching, manufacturing, investing…in no field would that rate be considered anything but abysmal and an utter failure.
Truth ⬆️
No one is against Education Spending.
People rightfully bristle at Wasteful Spending without any accountability for failing Student Outcomes.
Teachers almost never get removed for being poor performers. In KUSD…thanks in large part to the KEA….you literally have to be caught Grooming 12 year olds or setting up a bedroom in your supply closet to be shown the door.
Are you aware of exactly what the DOE does, what their mission is??? It certainly does not align with ensuring all children meet and exceed global or even national levels. The states need the power back, and don’t need a bloated big brother telling them what to do.
The goal is education only for the elites. To further the divide between rich and poor. The dim amongst have been co-opted in this mission.
Exactly. The “Elites” in this case are the teacher unions and the KUSD teacher union shill board members.
They want the minorities and less fortunate in our society to continue being uneducated. Hence voting yes will continue the disaster that they have caused for the past 50+ years.
VOTE NO for the kids and against the “Elites”.
Verbal gymnastics.
Truth⬆️
Americans are dumb compared to most civilized countries. Fact
Good schools are important for Wisconsin. Our district has a spotty record. Our state does not adequately fund public education. Meanwhile, politicians and politically minded people bicker and do nothing. They all share some blame. I will not vote for this referendum. KUSD’s stewardship, as reported here, is woefully inadequate. And adding more burden on property taxpayers is also wrong. The district and its allies have tried to conceal the true impact of a “yes” vote. The state has over $4 billion (that billion with a “b”) in a budget surplus and yet over 100 school districts, not just KUSD, are going to referendum. The funding formula needs to be fixed statewide. Locally, KUSD’s bloated bureaucracy needs to be trimmed and the board should reflect the best minds in the community, not a clash of competing ideologies.
In the past, the state relied occasionally on bipartisan, blue ribbon commissions to attack special challenges, including government organization. School funding and governance cries out for that now. Also, a good outside, independent management analysis of KUSD is also in order. And also community and employee input are critical to this. Ask students, teachers, principals and parents what should be added, what should be cut, etc. The approach should be to assemble the needs and wants, prioritize them and match them to available resources.
Blaming the State Funding formula is a Red Herring. Yes, there was a two year window where funding did not keep up with inflation, but this only created a microscopic portion of the current budget crisis. State funding is based upon student enrollment. When enrollments drop by 17%, and a School District increases staffing instead of reducing staffing by 17%, that’s not a State Funding issue, that’s an “Electing NOT SMART PEOPLE to the School Board” issue.
The true best solution to our failed education system is universal School Choice.
Allow funding to follow the student to a school of their parent’s selection. Whether it be the current neighborhood school, a parochial school, another private school, or even a homeschool association, empowering parents to select the best school for their child is the way to go.
Generally, only people of wealth can currently afford to choose alternatives to failed public schools for their kids. How is that fair?
No more incompetent School Boards deciding what is best for your child. No more being held hostage by the KEA or other Teacher Unions. No more indoctrination in ideologies that fly in the face of your family values.
Let Schools, Teachers, and Educational Professionals compete in the marketplace of ideas, philosophy, and proven results. Rest assured, it would not take long for parents to figure out which Schools are most effective.
Don’t you ever wonder why Teacher Unions and Liberals in general fight to the death against School Choice and Vouchers? The answer is simple….they know that public schools are a failed model that serve their pocketbooks and ideology….not the best interests of children…..particularly low income and minority children.
If you want to continue to send your child to the “School of Woke”, I am sure they will exist. However, I suspect most parents will flock to new Schools that pop up which emphasize proven Teaching Methodologies, Values that support your family’s Faith and Morals, and Accountability for Student Outcomes.
Wisconsin Parental School Choice Program (vouchers) requires proof of income when applying to the program. Once accepted, the parent(s) of the student(s) do not need to supply proof of income again. They only need to provide proof of residence each year. Thus, their income is irrelevant. Let that sink in.
I advocate for Universal School Choice.
Currently, low income families are shut out from choosing a school that may be a better opportunity for their child. It should not only be people of wealth that are able to provide Top Shelf education for their kids. That’s not fair.
On the flip side, currently, people who select Private/Parochial Schools…whether it be for religious, educational, social, or safety reasons… must pay for BOTH their child’s tuition as well as the Public Schools through their taxes. That is not fair either.
If the State is funding a certain number per child for education…$12,000?….that money should follow that student to the school of the parent’s choosing….regardless of the family income level.
The people on the KUSD School Board and Senior ESC Leadership could never compete in a competitive School Choice environment. They can’t even manage their own budget or produce demonstrably improved Student Outcomes in the current structure where they have a monopoly on funding, no real accountability, and complete 100% control over your child’s education.
AMEN, absolutely agree.
KUSD food service staff has not had a raise now in 8 years! We are the daily providers for these children and it is a well deserved amenity we should be be given!!!
Nope. The budget needs to be balanced before raises can even be discussed.
1. Kids can bring their own Lunch.
2. If you need/want more money, get a second job or find a better opportunity. Restaurants always struggle to find Dayside help. You may be surprised at what you would be worth to a private business.
Government schools in the America’s was always flawed!
The first edict was in the 1600’s in Massachusetts area called “The Old Deluder Satan Act”.
The premise I agree with to make Bible literacy abundant among children.
Yet the stated purpose was farmers were derelict in educating their own children so the government stepped in.
Once the premise was gone “bible literacy” and replaced with darwinism the outcome was still government knows better than parents. Now government teaches aberrations to God across the land.
Watch your good intentions when making laws, because the devil is in the details!
Government schools in the America’s was always flawed!
The first edict was in the 1600’s in Massachusetts area called “The Old Deluder Satan Act”.
The premise I agree with to make Bible literacy abundant among children.
Yet the stated purpose was farmers were derelict in educating their own children so the government stepped in.
Once the premise was gone “bible literacy” and replaced with darwinism the outcome was still government knows better than parents. Now government teaches aberrations to God across the land.
Watch your good intentions when making laws, because the devil is in the details!
Free, public schools are an integral part of the Wisconsin constitution. 25 years ago the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that the then-existing funding formula was constitutional but acknowledged that there will not always be equal results. I don’t see private vouchers as the answer to fixing public schools because, for one thing, they must continue to exist and be funded. Parents and communities need to exercise more control and vigilance and the entire system statewide needs an independent evaluation. Just throwing money at a problem won’t fix it. Nor will withholding it. One thing the prolific purported former KUSD teacher did not mention is the importance of parental involvement. His theory is that private vouchers are the remedy. Mine tends more toward parental involvement. Having experience with both public and private schools, one uniform distinction between the two is that in most private schools parental involvement is not only welcome, it is expected. Expected. Parents at all levels need to be more involved but the current system frustrates direct parental involvement.
You are 100% correct.
Private/Parochial education requires, first, that Parents do their homework in choosing the best option for schooling for their child. Second, once a School is chosen, rest assured that these schools mandate Parental Support…. Often in the form of a contract. That can mean expectations that parents demand good behavior and attendance from their child, homework follow up, attendance at school functions, or even required volunteer time. If Parents are not being good partners with the School and those expectations, these schools have leverage to remove the student. (These schools also are far quicker to remove poor performing Teachers)
Public Schools have zero leverage over parents, and public schools are Free. My experience was that too many parents failed to value education. Kids with a 90 IQ and amazing, supportive parents always seemed to outperform kids with 110 IQ’s with parents who were clearly not as involved.
Parents who are invested and held accountable in a Private/Parochial/Home School structure are a huge part of what makes these schools so successful.
My point was that, currently, most families cannot afford to make these choices, and their kids are doomed to the crapshoot of Government Schools controlled by Teacher Unions and Liberal social engineering. State funded School Choice changes the Power Pendulum in favor of Parents, Schools with children as the first priority, and the kids themselves.
It’s easy to bash. Republicans bash Democrats. Liberals bash conservatives. Unions bash management. And so on.
The teacher unions are not and should not be immune from criticism. They don’t always represent the best interests of their members or education but they should.
One sure sign of the broken KUSD board and administration is when teachers come to the podium during citizens comments to discuss problems in their schools. Yes, they may bicker and dicker at the bargaining table, but if a teacher has to stand at the podium during citizens comments to call attention to a problem in the schools, that’s an even bigger problem. The role of the classroom teacher has been diminished while administration gets fed. By and large, they are the experts, not so much administrators or board members. Are there bad teachers? Yes. There are bad doctors, lawyers and cops, too. We need to enable retention of good staff and elimination of the bad. But that’s not enough. We must start respecting the classroom teacher and reciprocally they should demonstrate professionalism. He may have been oversimplistic, but Ronald Reagan said that government isn’t always the answer to the problem, it is the problem. The bloated bureaucracy at KUSD is not only costly in dollars but in destroying innovation, independence and excellence.
In my years Teaching in the upper elementary, I really never felt disrespected. Questioned firmly on occasion, but I always enjoyed those conversations the most as they sharpened my thoughts and often resulted in changes in my classroom.
I will tell you that there was quite a bit that I witnessed that were not deserving of respect in the Teacher ranks. I could write a book.
My experience was that ESC Leadership was counterproductive toward my efforts. The initiatives they created and curriculum adopted were almost universally a detriment to my students and never came with objective evidence to support the rationale for adoption. Everything was Theory, Social Engineering, and since debunked methodology and ideology. ESC folks had zero interest in answering questions and spoke to anyone expressing concerns like an infant. And these people spent way more time out of town at conferences than they did in a classroom.
I always had GREAT Principals…. but, would hear Horror Stories from other schools.
I can tell you that I never had a Class Size below 30 for an entire year. I never felt overworked, and the testing growth Metrics of my students always exceeded the average….by a substantial amount. We were just fine.
To have “Apples to Apples” staffing of 314 extra Teachers today versus my days in KUSD is simply mind blowing. And to see Test Scores and other Metrics in 2024 in steady decline despite massive staffing increases does cause my blood to boil a little bit.
Public Schools and the KUSD are broken. I don’t believe it can be fixed. They are under the thumb of the KEA locally, and I don’t have supreme optimism that tonight will turn out well for the Taxpayer. (And I could write another book about the disgraceful actions of the KEA back in my day.)
The thing is….you get a bad burger, you get a new one or choose another restaurant. Don’t like your Hair Stylist….find a new one. Get something not what you thought it was going to be from Amazon….send it back. People can control most things in life….particularly on less significant items as I just listed.
But these are our kids. You can’t get a new one, send them back, or generally switch schools. Your kid’s education is not controlled 100% by you. It is largely controlled by mostly dumb School Board Members, arrogant and incompetent KUSD Leadership, and the KEA…..which I can promise you….does not care one iota about the children of Kenosha.
Something drastic needs to change. I have tried the last few days to share my observations and knowledge of the huge problems in KUSD. I wish the solutions were easy…. But the folks in charge have screwed things up enormously, and they not only have no intention to change…..they are willfully doubling down on failure.
We can and must be better.
There is much good talent within KUSD but a dearth of good leadership. As a result the good talent is suppressed and beaten down.
Thank you, good post.
The referendum was defeated although it was close in the City of Kenosha. I suspect they will come back again.
They always do.
Does anyone know how long meat loaf should be in the oven for ?