Parents from Decoding Dyslexia, the Wisconsin Reading Coalition, WI Reads and the International Dyslexia Association's Wisconsin branch sent a letter to DPI last week, saying they’re concerned with implementation of Act 20.

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Two days before Christmas, Erin West’s three daughters, husband, parents and hundreds of friends gathered to honor her life. 

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More than 100 Madison high schoolers marched to the state Capitol Friday where they denounced lawmakers' inaction on firearm legislation and funding for mental health support in schools.

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The State Building Commission denied a motion to allow $70 million in underspent funds to be used for a series of planned UW projects including the new engineering building at UW-Madison.

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Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, active shooter simulation drills in schools have become as common as fire drills. 

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The U.S. Department of Education released the official application on Nov. 21, after seven weeks of beta testing.

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The NCES data is not broken down by state, but the trends it points out can be seen in Wisconsin.

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Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson joined the live broadcast Wednesday, issuing a proclamation declaring Dec. 5 as “WPR Classical Music Day” in the city.

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The changes are based on recommendations from a $2.8 million system-wide third party financial review by Deloitte to assess finances on individual campuses. 

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The number of students in the program this year nearly doubled from 2023.

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Track athletes and runners in the Madison community say the new space is too small, comparing it to a running track found at a health club instead of one at a Big 10 University. 

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Two Wisconsin LGBTQ+ advocacy groups filed a federal civil rights complaint against the School District of Waukesha, alleging officials there are fostering a hostile environment by violating Title IX.

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Two former employees of Saint Paul Public Schools are alleging “misuse” and “misappropriation” of a substantial amount of federal COVID-19 relief dollars under the direction of their former employer, Superintendent Joe Gothard, who was hired in February to lead the Madison Metropolitan School District.

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Ah Yun is the first person of color to lead Marquette, and the Catholic, Jesuit university’s second lay president in its 143-year history.

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About 84 percent of Wisconsin’s public schools met or exceeded state expectations for the 2023-24 school year.

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The Watertown Unified School District approved a “Gender Support Plan,” Monday, shifting to more restrictive policies for transgender students.

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The Arrowhead Union High School board’s policy committee met Tuesday and unanimously said they would support a resolution directing the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to advocate for “no biological males in female sports.” 

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Preliminary results show many Wisconsin school districts successfully made the case to voters Tuesday that schools were in need of additional tax support.

Voters in 137 school districts were asked to approve increased funding for schools. A preliminary analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found 107 referendum questions passed, while 30 failed.

Ari Brown, a researcher with the Policy Forum, said the outcome is better than expected, but shows that overtime school district have gotten better at choosing when to put referendums on the ballot and how to word the questions.

“In general, a school district is going to try to avoid going to referendum unless it knows with a pretty high degree of certainty that it has a good chance of succeeding,” Brown said. “That said the passage rate is still lower than in all presidential and midterm election years since 2014.”

State Superintendent Jill Underly said she believes voters realized the value of public education and understood schools need sustainable funding to operate. 

“Our state legislature has severely underfunded public schools for well over a decade, and it has led to a record number of districts going to referendum to try and fix severe financial constraints on their own,” Underly said in a statement. “Too many communities were forced to vote Tuesday whether to increase property taxes just so their local schools can pay staff, heat and cool their buildings, and provide a quality education.”

School districts are funded by a mix of taxpayer dollars, state and federal aid.

The 2023-25 state budget included an annual funding increase for public schools of $325 per student to the state-imposed limit on revenues districts can receive in school aids and local property taxes combined. 

While this provides some relief, school districts say it didn’t catch them up from a freeze in state revenue caps in the previous two-year budget, or the declining enrollment many public school districts are experiencing.

Wisconsin ended its 2024 fiscal year in June with a $4.6 billion state budget surplus. The state’s “rainy day” fund hit a record-high of $1.9 billion.

“We must reinvest in our public schools and the future of our kids,” Underly said. “The upcoming biennial budget provides yet another opportunity for the legislature to uphold its responsibility to appropriately fund public schools, and to stop forcing Wisconsin communities to make impossible choices.”

Madison Metropolitan School District passes two referendums, deficit remains

Voters in Madison approved two referendums totaling more than $600 million. 

The first, for $100 million, will help the school district cover its operating costs. The second, for $507 million, will renovate and replace aging buildings.

In a statement, Superintendent Joe Gothard and school board president Nichelle Nichols said the “yes” votes mean the district will be able to attract quality staff and expand programs including 4K and early literacy, multilingual education and career exploration in middle school. 

“We are excited that 10 of our schools will be transformed with the ‘yes’ vote for district facilities,” the statement said. 

Still, Gothard said the district is continuing to operate with a structural deficit. 

“Our revenues are not keeping up with our costs,” the statement said. “We, along with other public school districts throughout the state, continue to be grossly underfunded by the state. Our team will come together and engage with the community to determine how to move forward and plan for the future.”

Other school districts to pass referendums include Green Bay, Wauwatosa, West Allis, Cudahy, Franklin, Glendale-River Hills, Eau Claire and Superior. 

The Green Bay Area Public School District’s $183 million referendum will pay to enhance safety and security at secondary schools and address deferred maintenance projects at several elementary schools.

“I am overwhelmed by the support of our community for the students and staff in the Green Bay Area Public School District,” Interim Superintendent Vicki Bayer said in a statement.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Voters approve tax increases for many Wisconsin school districts is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.