Wisconsin School District Surpluses Reach $1,860,000,000 in 2010-2011

Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance:

Total school district surpluses in Wisconsin reached $1.86 billion at the end of the 2010-11 school year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX).

This continues an upward trend that began in 2003, when those combined "fund balances" stood at $1.20 billion. Since then, districts have increased their combined reserves an average of 5.6% per year. They rose 6.1%, from $1.76 billion to $1.86 billion, during 2011.

Looked at a second way, total fund balances equaled 17.9% of school spending in 2011. However, this percentage ranged widely by district, an indication that Wisconsin school health varies considerably. Of 423 districts, 144 had reserves that were 25% or more of expenditures, a sign of fiscal strength, caution, or both.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 16, 2012 1:27 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas