Wisconsin bill would limit school funding requests after record number of referenda

After a slew of public-school referenda asking Wisconsin taxpayers for additional funding, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to limit how many times these can occur.

Assembly Bill 71 would eliminate recurring operating referenda and limit a non-recurring operating referendum to no more than four years, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

“We wrote the bill so that every four years, the school districts have a chance to say, ‘This is what we’re spending, this is what we have, this is what we need’ and rationalize why they need extra money,” said Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Town of Delafield. “If every four years they can say for whatever reason they’re still not getting enough money, (voters) can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and it’s up to the taxpayers to make that decision.”

The legislation has generated significant opposition from Democrats, who argue public schools are currently underfunded and turning to referenda to address financial shortfalls. 

Removal of pandemic-era aid 

As previously reported by The Lion, the increase in referenda questions coincided with the removal of federal COVID-19 pandemic support for schools. 

“Special pandemic-era aid ended at the end of 2024,” said Andrew Reschovsky, professor emeritus of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “So school districts are really facing a world where they no longer have this federal aid, but in almost all cases they still face problems of learning losses.” 

The Wisconsin Policy Forum documented a then-record number of referendum questions in 2024, the same year pandemic assistance stopped. 

Meanwhile, voters statewide have shown increasing reluctance to continue funding these requests. 

“Over the last six or seven years we have seen a somewhat of a decrease in the rate at which these referenda are approved,” said Mark Sommerhauser, the forum’s communications director and policy researcher. 

Despite this decrease in approvals, more than 80 of the state’s 386 districts used referenda questions in the spring of 2025 – breaking previous records, WMTV 15 News found. 

Fostering ‘fiscal responsibility’ 

Introducing legislation to curb the number of referenda will help “foster fiscal responsibility” for school districts, Duchow argued at a June 12 hearing. 

However, opponents countered with concerns over meeting local community needs within the restrictions set by the bill. 

“I see AB 71 as placing an unnecessary burden in a time frame of what a local school district, administration, team, school board and then taxpayers could decide for their own community based upon projections,” said Wisconsin Education Association Council President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen. 

The state’s current funding formula has also received criticism for ignoring factors such as income level, location and disabilities, according to Reschovsky. 

“Those sort of factors are not part of our what are called general aid formula in Wisconsin,” he said. “In most other states, they are integral to the main funding formula.”