Aug. 22, 2025 8:30a
(WGTD)---Despite the failure of a funding referendum last spring, Kenosha Unified hasn’t given up on making sure all schools have entrances that are as secure and safe as possible.
The district is in the process of refining a proposal to borrow money to construct secure entrances at the seven schools that don't have them.
If that route is pursued by the school board, then the district will need to find a way to fit principal and interest rate payments for the estimated $10 million expenditure below the state-mandated cap for all district expenses.
At a recent school board meeting, board members who spoke rejected the notion of making the project more manageable financially by doing the entrances one at a time.
Board members feared the consequences if an incident occurred at a school at the bottom of the list. "I know none of us would want to be here if that happens and we didn't pull the trigger on it," said Bob Tierney. "It's been long enough. It's 2025. Secured entrances are the norm and we need to knock it out."
Security took an even heightened sense of importance after gun-related incidents at two schools during the last school year.
No one was injured, but the incidents prompted the school board to roll funding for secure entrances into a referendum that eventually failed.
At a meeting earlier this month, administration laid out three funding options, including holding another referendum.
The consensus of the board was to pass on another referendum in lieu of financing the project within levy limits.
The matter is expected to come up for further school board discussion at its meeting in September.
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