(The Center Square) – The number of school referenda approved in Wisconsin has led to a larger gap in how much school districts can receive from taxpayers.
That means school districts that have passed referenda are receiving much more funding than those that have not.
“The question may eventually be decided in court,” Wisconsin Policy Forum wrote in its report. “In February 2026, a group of school districts, parents, and advocacy organizations sued the Wisconsin Legislature, alleging that it has systematically underfunded K-12 school districts and violated the state constitution in the process. The Wisconsin Supreme Court last found the school aid funding system to be constitutional in 2000.”
The state saw 61.3% of referenda pass in the spring, with 46 of 75 school district referenda being approved by voters. More will be coming in the fall election.
The only lower percentage of approvals in spring elections in an even-numbered year is 55.0% in 2010 with 60.2% in 2024.
Overall, the lowest approval rate in an even-numbered was 52.7% in 2010 and it was 70.1% in 2024.
Will Flanders, research director for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, has shown using Department of Public Instruction data that Wisconsin is currently spending more on public schools than it did a decade ago, jumping to $18,592 per student from $16,820 in 2014.
He also has pointed out that there is no correlation between spending more on schools and student performance.
“The relationship between spending and outcomes is generally slightly negative,” Flanders wrote. “When we’re spending nearly $19K per student, we are well past the point of diminishing returns. More money is not the answer.”
The data that Flanders used to present that information, however, has now been removed from DPI’s website.
After WILL exposed that current public school funding is HIGHER than year 2000 levels, @WisconsinDPI suddenly removed the once publicly available school spending data. We need more transparency, not less. pic.twitter.com/mTxtPGvbOQ— WILL (@WILawLiberty) April 13, 2026
