Charles Langston:Study finds Wisconsin voters approved a record number of school referenda

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referenda on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of the 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 records 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 and 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.