On Tuesday, voters in 72 Wisconsin school districts will decide 79 referendum questions worth $1.6 billion in operating and capital money. That comes seven months after 75 school referendums appeared on the April ballot. Between the two elections, voters in more than a third of the state’s public school districts have been asked to raise their own property taxes this year.
School officials continue to cite state revenue limits as the reason for these requests. However, voter support appears to be declining. In March, 51 percent of Wisconsinites said they would vote against a school referendum, up from 46 percent in June 2025.
Sixteen of the districts on Tuesday’s ballot had a referendum fail in April. They heard the answer and came right back.
Whitefish Bay voters rejected a $135 million facilities plan in the spring; the district is now requesting $90 million. Winter School District voters turned down a $2 million operating referendum and are now seeking $1.5 million. Siren’s $1.8 million request was not approved, and the district is now asking for $750,000 per year for four years. Gillett, Oconto, Montello, Markesan, Westfield, Twin Lakes, Trevor-Wilmot, and Southern Door are also submitting new requests.
Reducing the requested amount does not change the fundamental question. Voters were asked whether they wanted to pay more and declined. Sixteen school boards have returned with new requests. Some boards now warn that their districts could dissolve without additional funding, blaming taxpayers for previous budget decisions.
The districts asking for the most money are not growing. State data compiled by the Institute for Reforming Government for 2020 through 2026 shows Green Bay lost 2,294 students over that stretch, and it now wants $158 million. Janesville lost 781 students while adding 106 employees, and it wants $98 million. Middleton-Cross Plains lost 274 students, added 160 employees, and is asking for $118.5 million.
The statewide picture is the same. Wisconsin public school enrollment fell 9.2 percent over 16 years, a loss of almost 80,000 students, while the number of people employed in public schools grew 7.0 percent. Suburban districts employed 18.7 percent more staff in 2026 than in 2011.
Districts often note that facility operating costs do not decrease with declining enrollment. However, district leadership makes decisions to hire additional staff despite fewer students.
Suburban Milwaukee isn’t sitting this one out. Elmbrook wants $100 million in borrowing to renovate and add on to four schools. Oconomowoc is asking for a recurring operating referendum that climbs to $12.2 million a year by the 2031-2032 school year and stays at that level permanently. The Institute for Reforming Government puts the cost through 2033 at $48.9 million, in a district that has lost 401 students since 2020. Palmyra-Eagle, down 152 students over the same period, wants to exceed its revenue limit by $797,000 a year for four years.
The recurring structure should worry every taxpayer. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found that recurring referendums were more likely in districts with higher baseline funding, larger enrollment, and fewer low-income students, which describes many suburban districts. These requests lock in higher costs forever.
Wisconsin districts already receive more than $18,000 per pupil, and taxpayers spend nearly $18,750 per student on average. Per-pupil spending hit $17,400 in the 2023-2024 school year, the highest level since 2000 even after adjusting for inflation. On top of that, Governor Tony Evers’ 400-year partial veto hands districts a $325 per-pupil revenue limit increase every year until 2425.
The inflation argument is not supported by the data. Districts with higher baseline funding in 2019-2020 were more likely to pursue referendums, and claims of falling behind inflation often overlook total revenue growth. If only financially constrained districts were making requests, the pattern would be reversed.
