Wisconsin voters approved a record number of school referenda, study finds
Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referenda on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of funding requests, according to a report released Thursday.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum study found that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referenda, eclipsing the old record of 240 set in 1998. The referenda sought a total of $5.9 billion, a new record ask. The old record was $3.3 billion set in 2022.
Voters approved 169 referenda, breaking the old record of 140 set in 2018. They authorized a record total of $4.4 billion in new funding for school districts, including $3.3 billion in debt. The old record, unadjusted for inflation, was $2.7 billion set in 2020.
A total of 145 districts — more than a third of the state's 421 public school districts — passed a referendum in 2024. Voters in the Madison Metropolitan School District approved the largest referenda in the state, signing off on a record $507 million debt referendum as well as a $100 million operating referendum.
The report attributed the rising number of referenda to increases in inflation outpacing increases in the state's per-pupil revenue limits, which restrict how much money districts can raise through property taxes and state aid.
Increasing pressure to raise wages and the loss of federal COVID-19 pandemic relief aid also have played a role, according to the report.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization.