“Declining enrollment, inflation pushing many districts to ask taxpayers for help”
Public school officials say state-imposed revenue limits make it impossible for districts to fund day-to-day operations. But opponents say school districts receive more than $18,000 per pupil — slightly above national averages — so the problem is how that money is being spent.
Green Bay, Middleton-Cross Plains and Janesville have the three largest operating referendums on the ballots this year at $158 million, $119 million and $98 million, respectively. All three are non-recurring.
There are 16 school districts that had a failed referendum in April and are trying again on Tuesday.
Damian LaCroix, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, and Dan Rossmiller, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, penned an op-ed this week saying schools aren’t asking for a “blank check.”
…..
Will Flanders, research director with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, says districts will have to reconcile that enrollment increases are not likely to happen anytime soon.
“So in many instances there is going to have to be more severe belt tightening than we usually consider,” Flanders said. “We have districts that are on the very high end of spending that are going to referendum, and we have districts that are at the opposite end of the low end of spending, going to referendum.The nice thing in Wisconsin is that we leave it up to voters to decide.”
In April, more than 60 percent of school districts saw their referendums approved. But polling shows voter fatigue.
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“They were relieved that American classes are so much easier than those in Taiwan”
Notes and links on the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI and Jill Underly.
“Did you know my school was bad like this when you decided to put me here?” she asked.
Madison’s district, despite an elite university pipeline, hypereducated leadership, and a shiny, new strategic plan, suffers the same frailties as Milwaukee’s: basement performance, backbreaking spending. But while Milwaukee is pulling out of its tailspin due to courageouschoices from the top, Madison is ponderously ambling to nowhere. Just ask the locals. “You need the marketing, and you need the product,” as a parent told a reporter. “I’m missing the product.”
2025-2026 Madison 4k-3rd grade Early Literacy Screener report: The bar moves faster than the kids.
Joe Gothard, Becky Kundert and Sonia Spencer Remarks on Madison’s K-12 Literacy Crisis.
2026-2027 Madison K-12 $pending continues to grow, fueled by a 9.7% (!) property tax increase. Total spending will be at least $706,000,000 for 25,003 students, or $28,236 per student.
May 2026 Madison School District Presentation: 7,095 adults for 25,003 students (3.52 students per adult!)
2024-2025 Early Literacy Screener Map.
Map: Foundations of Reading Results: 2015–2024
Where have all the students gone?
3,887 Madison 4 year old to third grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average k-12 tax & $pending. This despite our long term, disastrous reading results. May, 2026: 7,095 Staff for 25,003 students; $pending > $26k per student!
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic.
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?
China’s PhD Glut Drives Top Graduates to High School Teaching Jobs
