For Immediate Release:
John Gaier, President
Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding
jgaier@neillsville.k12.wi.us
715-743-3323

AEF Applauds Governor’s Budget Proposal Looks Forward to More Bipartisanship to Finally Close Revenue Gaps

February 21, 2025

Clearly recognizing the need to end decades of wildly discrepant funding levels for students in different school districts across the state, Governor Evers’ proposes another strong step toward finally leveling the playing field.

For thirty years, students in a handful of districts have been funded with thousands of dollars more than their peers across the state. This year, state law allowed 19 districts to raise more than $14,157 per student while another 172 districts could raise just $11,325 per student. Why should students in districts like New Lisbon, Antigo, Chippewa Falls, and Beloit and dozens of others get thousands of dollars less for their education than their peers? The Government should not pick “winners and losers” in the budget process. All students should be treated equally in the eyes of the state.

In the last biennial budget, the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee initiated an increase in the minimum per pupil funding from $10,000 to $11,325. This was a major improvement, and was signed into law by Governor Evers. Because it was paired with increased state aid, property tax increases were minimal in districts that did not pass a referendum (WI Policy Forum).

Now the Governor is leading the way to improving the funding system. His budget proposal raises the revenue amount to a minimum of $12,400 per student by the end of the biennium and pairs it with another substantial increase in state aid to districts. He would also provide more funding for districts at the top, reflecting increased costs for fuel, electricity, and staffing. Evers’ proposal makes funding more equal between students, and property taxes could even decline! But, after 3 decades of unfair and uneven funding, there is more work to be done.

AEF has called for an increase in the per pupil amount to a minimum of $12,650, such that 90% of districts would be funded within 10% of each other on a per pupil basis. How does the Evers budget proposal stack up? It gets close. If enacted, 87% of districts (366 of 421) would be funded within 10% of the new minimum. However, over 44,000 students in districts including Appleton, Wausau, Mequon, and Waunakee will still receive hundreds of dollars less per student under the Evers proposal than AEF’s proposal.

It’s time for the Joint Finance Committee to step up to finally level the playing field. Let’s bring an end to 30 years of unfair, uneven funding between districts.

The Wisconsin Association for Equity in Funding (WAEF) is a group of 70 Wisconsin school districts that seeks financial equity in the state system of school financing. Members include urban, suburban and rural schools, educating about 85,000 students across Wisconsin. The two issues that brought this group together have been the wide differences in the amount school districts have been able to invest in the education of their children (Revenue Limits) and the even wider differences in the property tax burden to pay for that investment.

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