Wisconsin Redistributed Tax Dollars will help taxes, not classrooms
About 60% of school districts will get a boost in state aid in 2016-’17, but the money will flow through to property tax relief instead of funding for classrooms, according to new state figures.
Meanwhile, costs to taxpayers for the Milwaukee voucher program and costs to nearly all districts for the expense of running independent charter schools have both dropped. Those changes benefit Milwaukee as well as taxpayers in most other districts getting more aid.
“More state aid doesn’t provide us more money, but it is good news for our Pewaukee taxpayers,” said Pewaukee Schools Superintendent JoAnn Sternke, whose district will see a 19% increase in aid.
In total, $4.58 billion was appropriated for general school aid in 2016-’17, according to figures from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The money to be distributed is an increase of about $122 million from last year, thanks in part to lawmakers changing the way independent charter schools and private voucher schools are funded.
