RACINE, Wis. — The Racine Unified School District (RUSD) has already made some progress on changes, thanks to one of the biggest school referendums in Wisconsin history.
The 30-year, $1 billion capital referendum passed by just five votes in April 2020.
“The spring of 2020 referendum was important because it was an investment by our community in our facilities,” said RUSD Chief Operations Officer Peter Reynolds.
Reynolds said all Racine public schools will undergo physical improvements thanks to that referendum money. Some of the projects have yet to begin, while others are already completed.
One of the schools where upgrades are complete is Jerstad-Agerholm School.
“I think the main thing is that kids can be proud of where they go to school, what it looks like, and I think it shows that the community believes in them,” said Danny Hernandez, the principal of Jerstad-Agerholm School, as he showed off the new gym, classroom renovations and cafeteria upgrades.
Across town, construction is still underway as crews make progress on a new state-of-the-art Schulte K-8 School. It will be right next to the old Schulte Elementary, which was built in 1967.
“What the new Schulte will bring is an opportunity for students and staff to have a 21st century learning environment,” said Reynolds.
Progress on RUSD’s 2020 capital referendum projects comes as city voters recently approved an RUSD operational referendum. On April 1, 2025, Racine voters passed a five-year, $190 million operational referendum to help with ongoing school district expenses like salaries, utilities and maintenance.
