Wisconsin voters decide on 79 school referendums on Tuesday ballot

Wisconsin voters face $1.6 billion in school funding decisions

On Tuesday’s ballot, voters across Wisconsin are deciding the financial future of dozens of local school districts, with 79 referendums on the line representing a total of $1.6 billion in operational and capital requests. According to reports from WLUK and WPR, these measures will determine whether local property taxes increase to support school systems facing significant inflationary pressures and state funding gaps.

The scale of the requests is substantial. In Northeast Wisconsin, several districts are asking for significant relief to maintain day-to-day operations. The Green Bay Area Public School District is seeking $158 million over the next four years, one of the largest operating referendums in the state. Other Northeast Wisconsin districts with referendums on the ballot include Southern Door County, Sturgeon Bay, Oconto Unified, West De Pere, Ripon Area, Pulaski Community, Little Chute Area, Weyauwega-Fremont, Gillett, Luxemburg-Casco, Brillion, and Marinette.

For many districts, these votes aren’t about expansion, but about managing existing budgets. Jenni Fuss, School Board president for the West De Pere School District, noted that their $4.9 million annual request over five years is not “additional money,” but rather a reallocation of funds already budgeted from the district’s debt services. Even after reducing their budget by $1.5 million to prepare for a deficit, Fuss stated the district still requires the referendum to function.

The debate over state aid and inflation

The central conflict driving these referendums is a disagreement over whether school districts are truly underfunded or simply mismanaging their current resources. School officials argue that the state’s funding model has failed to keep pace with the rising costs of running a district. Angie Roble, Chief Financial Officer for the Green Bay School District, pointed to the lack of state funding as a primary driver, noting that inflationary costs are outpacing current allocations.

Instagram

This sentiment is echoed by Damian LaCroix, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, and Dan Rossmiller, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. In an op-ed, they argued that inflation erodes the purchasing power of appropriated dollars, making it harder to provide the same level of service as in previous years.

Wisconsin voters decide on 79 school referendums on Tuesday ballot — Photo: wpr.org

Conversely, critics argue that the high per-pupil spending in some districts suggests the issue lies in administrative costs rather than a lack of revenue. Will Flanders, Research Director for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, noted that some districts receive more than $19,000 per student, including federal funds. Flanders suggested that while some referendums are necessary for construction, others should be questioned, particularly given the growth of administrative staff in some areas.

“We do receive a lot of federal funding, but it can only be used for specific things. It’s allocated to specific students, and not to be used for general operating purposes,”
Angie Roble, Green Bay School District CFO

Roble countered the criticism of high spending by noting that the Green Bay School District has already taken significant steps to reduce costs, including consolidating schools, closing a virtual school, and cutting 100 full-time staff positions.

Rising costs in the classroom and the community

The economic reality of running a school district has shifted dramatically in recent years. In the Middleton-Cross Plains district, for example, the cost of diesel for school buses jumped from approximately $20,000 in September 2025 to $44,000. Health insurance premiums have also risen by 15 percent, according to Jerrud Rossing, Assistant Superintendent of Operations at the district.

Wisconsin Election Results: Fire Safety & School Referendums Decide Local Funding #wisconsinnews

Beyond fuel and insurance, the complexity of modern education adds to the fiscal strain. Rossing highlighted that the district now serves students speaking over 60 different languages and must navigate a growing number of mandates from both state and federal governments.

The state’s role in this fiscal tension is tied to the 2025–27 Wisconsin state budget, which kept general school aid flat at $5.58 billion for the third consecutive year. This lack of an inflationary increase comes at a time when many districts are also dealing with declining enrollment, a trend that Flanders noted will likely necessitate even more “severe belt tightening” in the future.

The stakes for local taxpayers

The outcome of Tuesday’s vote will have immediate consequences for both students and taxpayers. If referendums are declined, districts like Green Bay and West De Pere warn of further cuts to staff and programs. Roble indicated that if the Green Bay School District’s request is rejected, the district would likely seek another referendum in the spring.

Instagram

Voter appetite for these tax increases has shown signs of cooling. While 70% of referendums were approved in 2024, data from the Wisconsin Policy Forum shows that only 61.3% of referendums were approved during the Spring elections. This downward trend suggests that voters are increasingly scrutinizing the necessity of local tax hikes.

District	Referendum Type	Estimated Amount
Green Bay	Operating	$158 million
Middleton-Cross Plains	Operating	$119 million
Janesville	Operating	$98 million
West De Pere	Reallocation	$4.9 million annually

As the polls open, the decision rests on whether residents view these requests as essential lifelines for aging infrastructure and rising costs, or as unnecessary burdens on a taxpayer base already feeling the squeeze of a changing economy.