The K-12 education portion of Wisconsin property tax bills rose 7.8% this year, the largest rise in more than three decades, according to a new report.
That rise is due to a record number of school referenda approved along with actions in the past two state budgets, including Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto of an education funding item in the state budget. That led to a $325 per student per year funding increase for the next 400 years instead of just the next budget, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
The K-12 tax bills are expected to rise a combined $476.1 million to $6.58 billion on December tax bills, according to the report and Department of Revenue estimates.
It’s the largest percentage increase in K-12 property tax bills since 1992 and a jump from the 5.7% increase a year ago. The K-12 costs on property tax bills are more than 50% of the property taxes collected statewide.
State lawmakers also put $500 million in increased aid in the state budget for special education reimbursements. Wisconsin public schools have added 3,300 staff members while enrollment dropped by 55,000 since 2016-2017, according to Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Policy Director Kyle Koenen.