The district has received $2.1 million of the funding since the program's inception in the 1990s, while the Green Bay Area School District, comparable in size and demographics, received nearly three times that amount, records show.Before we scratch our heads wondering why the "financially strapped" Racine school district wasn't "diligent" in collecting the money from the feds, there's some paperwork involved.
Yet last school year, Racine Unified had three times the number of Medicaid eligible special education students compared with Green Bay.
"We've been slow to get out of the blocks," School Board Vice President Armin Clobes said. "It's a source of revenue we need to go after and do what it takes to get it."
District leaders are discussing the Medicaid issue with the Racine Education Association, the teachers union, to ensure that all therapy providers will fill out reimbursement paperwork.Ten minutes of paperwork per eligible student per week? Why, the paperwork might take time from leading students on demonstrations and petition drives to demand more money from the taxpayers.
"A lot of confusion boils down to what is considered within and not within the contract of an employee," board member Randy Bangs said.
Dennis Wiser, executive director of the union, said filling out the paperwork, which he estimated would take 10 minutes per student per week, could be taxing if a service provider had a high caseload of eligible students.
"(Paperwork) adds a whole new work component to the day of teachers," Wiser said.
After all, Racine taxpayers require only a little bullying and very little paperwork to shell out big money. They've proven it again and again.
