School Districts Raising Taxes
Property taxes are going up about six percent as a result of a wave of local school tax increases, and a bump in how the state pays for public school students.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum on Tuesday released its latest look at property taxes in the state. And those taxes are going up.
“Gross K-12 property taxes in Wisconsin are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009, spurred both by per pupil revenue limit increases and a historic number of approved school district referenda,” the report states. “County property taxes, meanwhile, will rise by the lowest amount in the last decade, leaving state residents with overall increases to their property tax bills that are in line with those of recent years and possibly even less than last year.”
Property taxes for schools make up about half of a homeowner’s property tax bill. The Policy Forum report says that total comes to $6.1 billion in 2024, compared to $5.77 billion last year. That's a 5.7% increase.
Part of that increase is the decision by Wisconsin lawmakers to add $325 per-student to the state’s school revenue limit. The report notes that the “larger the revenue limit increase, the larger the property tax increase.”
The other reason for the large property tax increase, voters approved dozens of local school tax increases.
"Nearly 400 referenda have passed in just the last four years, including 169 in 2024 alone," the report added. "In the 275 districts that have passed at least one referendum since the beginning of 2021, K-12 property taxes will rise by 7.6% in 2024. In the remaining districts, levies will also rise, but by a much smaller 1.0%."
But that average includes some massive, local tax increases.
“No district will increase its property taxes by more than Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), whose 29.6% increase amounts to $94.7 million, or more than a quarter of the total statewide levy increase,” the report said.
The report does say the increase in school choice enrollment plays a role in the need for local school tax increases, but it doesn’t have a dollar amount.
The report is also silent as to why most school districts in Wisconsin asked taxpayers for more money. Many districts plan to use their recently passed referendum questions for day-to-day operations and pay raises, as opposed to building new schools or updating buildings.
The jump in property taxes for schools is a stark contrast to what the report found about county and special district taxes.
“Preliminary data show county property tax levies increasing by $31.9 million, or 1.3%, from $2.52 billion in 2023 to $2.55 billion in 2024,” the authors wrote. “This would be the lowest year-over-year increase to county property taxes since 2013.”
Once again, Dane County and Milwaukee County will have the largest county tax levies in the state. But the report notes that 13 of Wisconsin's 72 counties are raising their taxes at higher rates than Dane and Milwaukee.
The report ends with a nod to the skyrocketing rise of property taxes year-over-year, and includes a suggestion for Wisconsin lawmakers.
"The rise of ballot measures has led to higher property taxes and may also be exacerbating differences between those districts that succeed in passing them and those that do not," the report states in its conclusion. "As the 2025-27 state budget debate approaches, lawmakers and the governor may wish to consider ways to balance the goal of controlling local property taxes while at the same time ensuring an adequate education for children across the state."
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