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Flat State Funding, Declining Enrollment
Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction is leaving a major piece out of its latest report on school funding in the state.
DPI on Wednesday released the General State Aid estimates for the next school year. And DPI made a point to say many schools in the state will lose money from Madison.
"With no increase in the state’s general school aid appropriation included in the 2025-27 biennial budget, school districts will continue to operate without additional state general aid in the next fiscal year. " DPI wrote. "Based on the estimate released today, 59.9% of Wisconsin’s school districts (252 districts) are projected to receive less general aid for 2026-27 than they did in 2025-26, while 38% (160 districts) are estimated to receive more and nine districts are expected to see no change."
DPI does note that Wisconsin's share of general state aid is not changing. The state will once again pay $5.58 billion in general aid payments to local schools. And DPI also acknowledges that general state aid is not the only state funding, or funding source for local schools in Wisconsin.
But DPI barely acknowledged that many schools will see fewer General State Aid dollars because those schools are seeing fewer students.
"General school aids are the largest form of state support for Wisconsin public schools, offsetting local property taxes under state-imposed revenue limits," DPI wrote. "A district’s general aid can increase or decrease due to changes in funds available from the state as well as changes in any of the three local factors comprising Wisconsin’s general equalization aid formula: property valuation, enrollment, and shared costs."
The Wisconsin Policy Forum reported back in June that Wisconsin is in the middle of a generation population decline.
"The number of students enrolled in Wisconsin public schools (including charter schools) gradually fell 9.2% over 16 years to 791,794 students in 2026," the Policy Forum wrote. "That is a decrease of almost 80,000 students."
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