RUSD: 'Separate But Equal' or 'Time For Change?'

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Gov. Scott Walker signed the state's $76 billion state budget into law Thursday during a ceremony held in Neenah. Included in that budget was a small provision with large implications for schools, parents and their students in Racine County.

That provision, called the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program, grants the Racine Unified School District one academic year to improve its state test scores to avoid a second straight failing grade.

If the district falls short of its state-imposed mandate, a commissioner is appointed to create a separate district for the failing schools, while allowing voters in surrounding municipalities that are tied to the district, the ability hold a binding referendum to separate from the district.

Under previous state law, voters in Mount Pleasant, Caledonia and Sturtevant can hold referendums to secede from RUSD, however the referendums are only advisory.

Opposing views on the controversial legislature are strident, at best. State Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), who represents the cities of Racine and Kenosha, calls the provision "morally unjustifiable" and equivalent to "separate but equal."

On the other side of the issue, State Sen. Van Wanggaard, (R-Racine), who represents large portions of Racine and Kenosha Counties, said "RUSD has seen below average results for too long" and that "something has to change."

On the day the state budget was passed, both representatives sent Patch.com their views on the provision. They are represented here in full:

State Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine)

“I am appalled that Governor Scott Walker has signed into law a number of provisions intended to undermine the success of our school district and our students. There is no other way to say it; if the villages surrounding Racine vote to break away and form their own district, it will result in segregated schools. If we divided into two districts today, the City of Racine district would have 70.1 percent minority students and the village district would have 67.5 percent white students. This is morally unjustifiable.

It is also likely unconstitutional. This country outlawed “separate but equal” schools more than 60 years ago because we determined that it was not only wrong to separate students based on their race, but their schools were not ‘equal.’ These provisions provide a pathway to strip resources from the Racine Unified School District and create second-rate schools for City of Racine residents.

The Republican Legislators who proposed and pushed through these provisions knew their implications. I’ve been in this job for eleven years and I have seen Scott Walker and the Republican Legislators do many terrible things. But even I am surprised that their determination to disenfranchise City of Racine voters and defund public education would push them this far.

Using our young people to score political points is nothing short of shameful.
“I believe in our democracy and the values we hold dear. I know that when the core American principles of equality and diversity are under attack, the residents of this community will rise up to defend them. I will stand with you. We will fight for our schools and for our young people, no matter how long it takes, and eventually, we will win.”

State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine)

If we would have done nothing, RUSD would lose between 3-5 schools and thousands of students next year to the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program. In recognition of the positive changes that RUSD has made since the last report card, including the Academies of Racine, Higher Expectations and a new superintendent, I was able to convince my colleagues, whose taxpayers are heavily subsidizing Racine schools, to give RUSD an extra year to turn around. I have seen the progress they are making and I truly hope and believe they will succeed. For the large part, the problem is not the teachers or the students, who are trying their best.

But we also have to recognize that RUSD has seen below average results for too long. Something has to change. Families of all races are already choosing to leave Unified, whether it is the 1,300 students who open enroll into other districts or 2,500 students through School Choice. These students are diverse in their race, ability and geographic location. And for school choice, those children are exclusively low-income.

Like each of those families that choose to leave RUSD, the communities of Unified should make a similar decision. Do they want trust to their students’ future, on the future success of Unified, or do they want to invest in their own district, and think they can do better on their own? To help them make that decision, the budget includes a study that will show the financial impact to Racine and the villages from the villages creating their own district.

Attempting to inject racism into this decision is a political ploy for Cory’s mayoral campaign – nothing more. Instead of facing and addressing the serious issues and deficiencies facing Unified, he is blaming racism. The city of Racine and the villages are both diverse on their own. Villages forming their own district(s) does not change that. This is about every parent and every community determining the best learning environment for their children.

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