(The Center Square) – The K-12 education portion of Wisconsin property tax bills rose 7.8% this year, the largest rise in more than three decades, according to a new report.
That rise is due to a record number of school referenda approved along with actions in the past two state budgets, including Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto of an education funding item in the state budget. That led to a $325 per student per year funding increase for the next 400 years instead of just the next budget, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
The K-12 tax bills are expected to rise a combined $476.1 million to $6.58 billion on December tax bills, according to the report and Department of Revenue estimates.
It’s the largest percentage increase in K-12 property tax bills since 1992 and a jump from the 5.7% increase a year ago. The K-12 costs on property tax bills are more than 50% of the property taxes collected statewide.
State lawmakers also put $500 million in increased aid in the state budget for special education reimbursements. Wisconsin public schools have added 3,300 staff members while enrollment dropped by 55,000 since 2016-2017, according to Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Policy Director Kyle Koenen.
The K-12 property tax increase has become a major talking point in the upcoming race for Wisconsin governor. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany recently released a digital advertising initiative called “Don’t Fear the Mailman” related to those property tax increases.
“Even as public-school enrollment declines, property taxes continue to rise under Governor Evers’ 400-year property tax increase and growing administrative bloat in our schools,” Tiffany told The Center Square. “Per-pupil spending is at an all-time high in district-run schools, yet only 31% of fourth graders are reading at grade level. After 16 years of failed leadership by the so-called education governor, the system is failing, and Wisconsin families are paying more for worse outcomes.
“As governor, I will lower property taxes, put students and teachers first, cut administrative bloat, and demand results. We will raise standards, restore honest A-F report cards, and get back to the basics, because our kids and taxpayers deserve an education that prepares the next generation for success.”
Lawmakers are pushing a bill that would limit that increase to one school year, as lawmakers intended. It has passed the Senate and is moving through the Assembly but would have to be signed by the governor to become law.
Evers used his partial veto power to erase numbers and a hyphen to change “2024-25” to “2425” in a budget bill, a maneuver approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court as legal in a 4-3 ruling.
The report showed that the county portion of property tax bills will rise 3.1% this year.
