In November 2024, voters in our leafy suburb of Milwaukee will join the majority of Wisconsin school districts in having to approve a sizable local tax levy or else suffer draconian cuts to its public schools.
This series looks at how we got here and what we can do about it, beginning with voting on the referendum.

Hosted by: Derek Gottlieb (derekgottliebphd.com)

In which we cover the fundamentals of the Wauwatosa School District budget situation, of school finance in Wisconsin as a whole, of property tax and referendum mechanisms, and of revenue-limit legislation.

LINKS to cited sources:

General WI Educational Funding

State Aid to WI School Districts (source: Legislature pub)

Referenda-use in Wisconsin (Forward Analytics)

Revenue Limits -> Student Outcomes (Rothstein report)

Referendum Impacts on Educational Outcomes (Am. Econ. Journal)

DPI's revenue-limit calculator (DPI)

Local District Descriptive Stats (from NCES for 22-23)

Wauwatosa

Beloit

Campbellspot

Lomira

Kewaskum

Tosa 2075 Task Force information

June 3rd presentation/discussion with the Board (video)

⁠Final Report⁠