On April 2, Milwaukee Public Schools will ask voters to approve a referendum allowing the district to exceed revenue limits by $252 million on a recurring basis.
MPS is not alone in Wisconsin in asking voters to support more funding. According to the state Department of Public Instruction, between the February and April elections there are:
- 21 other recurring revenue referendums totaling more than $85 million. If approved, districts are able to increase the base of their tax levy moving forward.
- 42 non-recurring revenue referendums totaling $331 million. If approved, districts can increase their tax levy for specified years.
- 30 debt issuance referendums totaling $800 million. These referendums often relate to specific building expansion or renovation projects.
In placing the question on the ballot, MPS pointed to the lack of inflation adjustments in revenue limits. The district estimated that if limits kept pace with inflation, MPS would have access to
$210 million in additional funding per year.
Without the additional funding, the district says it would need to consider eliminating positions, freezing salaries, increasing the employee share of benefit cots, consolidating schools, eliminating specialty programs, reducing mental health supports and reducing funding to schools. The district’s financial estimates project a cumulative
budget shortfall of $252 million by its 2028 fiscal year.
The biggest drivers of the shortfall are forecasted increases in salary and benefit costs of 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively, on average annually and an average decrease in overall revenues of around 1.2% per year.
Critics, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Northwestern Mutual chairman and chief executive officer John Schlifske, have argued there is not a clear plan of how additional funding for MPS will translate to improved student achievement while also pushing property taxes higher.
MPS estimates the referendum would increase its tax rate by around
$2.16 per $1,000 of equalized value for the next budget year, pushing the district’s property tax rate to around $10.10 per $1,000.
District officials also pointed out a growing number of Wisconsin school districts are turning to referendums for help with their finances. More than 20 recurring referendum questions have been on the ballot in every even year election cycle since 2016 in the state.
Here’s a look at the number of recurring revenue referendums in the state per year since 2009, along with the amount of funding approved or rejected:
