More Money, Fewer Students, Worse Results: What's at Stake for Wisconsin Schools

What's at Stake for Wisconsin Schools?

The lead-up to this year's midterm has renewed debates on every possible public policy issue, but education is garnering ever-increasing attention.

The debate has centered on a number of key issues, including school district financing, changing educational standards, public vs. private education, the voucher program, and Evers' 2023 partial veto (aka the 400-year veto).

Wisconsin's primaries eliminated some of the most radical education policy positions, but that means that what remains actually stands a chance of becoming law. Let's dive into some of the most concerning issues.

Spending Rises While Standards Slide

The referendum cycle keeps spinning, and Wisconsinites are getting tired. A Marquette Law School poll from February of this year showed that only 40% of Wisconsinites favored increasing property taxes over further funding public schools. This is the lowest in over a decade.

Dozens of school district referendum questions are expected on the November ballot this fall after more than 60% of referendums passed this past spring, totaling over $500 million in increased property taxes.

Wisconsinites are told that the school districts are starved, while DPI's numbers show record average school district revenue of nearly $19,000 per student. At the same time, statewide enrollment is shrinking. The Wisconsin Policy Forum found that over the last 16 years, K-12 enrollment in Wisconsin has declined by close to 10%, totaling around 80,000 students. As the MacIver Institute has continued to point out, schools are receiving more funding, teaching fewer students, and getting worse results.

Despite this, the firm Law Forward has launched a legal battle against the state for allegedly failing to fund schools they way the Wisconsin constitution demands.

As MacIver's own policy analyst Michael Lucas argues in his series on the original intent of school district funding in Wisconsin, the lawsuit's interpretation is not how the drafters of the Wisconsin Constitution meant for schools to be financed. Setting aside the constitutional question, even as spending grows, academic outcomes have slipped.

The decline in the performance of Wisconsin students, however, is hard to see, as the standardized test used in the state to measure skills like math and reading had its proficiency scores altered by DPI.

Democratic Candidates Largely Oppose School Choice

Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley has spoken repeatedly about implementing stricter oversight for private voucher schools.

He has said he would not expand or shrink the voucher program, but he supports capping enrollment and listing voucher costs on property tax bills. That distinguishes him from Rep. Francesca Hong, who campaigned on eliminating the program entirely.

Regardless of whether he would end the program altogether, Crowley's proposal to cap the program is seen by many in the pro-school choice camp as a slower route to the same place. He has also floated the idea of eventually sunsetting the program.

The state's largest teachers union noticed. The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), a staunch opponent of the voucher program, officially endorsed Crowley.

WEAC President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen said the union was "convinced David Crowley will be the best choice for Governor in the November elections."

The 400-Year Veto

Despite its wide controversy, Crowley said in August that he would "absolutely not" vote for the constitutional amendment on November's ballot that would bar governors from using the partial veto to create or increase a tax or fee. The amendment was introduced in response to Evers' 2023 veto, which turned a two-year, $325-per-pupil increase in school revenue limits into one lasting four centuries. Crowley called the Republican effort an attempt to "rig the system." Evers has endorsed Crowley.

Crowley has not explained what would make the same spending approach produce different results than it has over the past six years.

Conclusion

Whoever wins in Wisconsin this fall will inherit a number of problems in Wisconsin education and its financing. How much more can Wisconsin property taxpayers take? Should the state measure its students' performance differently? What is the role of parental choice in the direction of education tax dollars? Why can't the fourth graders read?!

Between dozens of local referendums, a state lawsuit that may upend the school funding system, a constitutional amendment on the partial veto, and a whole host of candidates to choose from, Wisconsin's education landscape is sure to shift. Voters will soon help decide what that landscape looks like.