Proposed new rules for referendums are unneeded

Wisconsin legislators are once again working to micromanage how school districts operate and limit what local voters can do about it.

In Wisconsin, school district spending is capped based on a variety of factors, the most significant of which is student enrollment. Wisconsin schools have been able to go around these caps by appealing to local voters through the referendum process. Referendums are typically done either to exceed operational expenses on a recurring basis or to pay off the debt service for capital projects such as maintenance, remodeling, or expansion of school buildings and facilities.

A bill, AB 71, authored by Rep. Cindi Duchow and Sen. Chris Kapenga, both from Delafield, would limit the options school districts have when it comes to referendums. It is the latest in a series of laws and bills aimed to undermine the power of the ballot box when it comes to setting school spending.

The bill would eliminate recurring operating referendums and cap non-recurring operating referendums at four years. Recurring operating referendums grant school districts the authority to exceed revenue limits on an ongoing basis, with no expiration dates. The additional funding added to the base revenue limit remains indefinitely when a recurring referendum is passed.

Non-recurring operating referendums give school districts temporary permission to exceed revenue limits for a specific number of years. After the set period expires, the additional funds are no longer a part of a district’s base revenue.

The bill’s supporters claim it will improve accountability. As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “We wrote the bill so that every four years, the school districts have a chance to say, ‘this is what we’re spending, this is what we have, this is what we need’ and rationalize why they need extra money,” Duchow said. “If every four years they can say for whatever reason they’re still not getting enough money, [voters] can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and it’s up to the taxpayers to make that decision.”

Wisconsin schools have increasingly turned to voters through the referendum process.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum reported following the November 2024 election that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referendums last year. The previous record was 240 referendums, which was set in 1998. The referendums asked for a combined $45.9 billion in new spending.

Asking isn’t necessarily getting. Of those 241 referendums, voters approved 169 of them for $4.4 billion in new funding and $3.3 billon in debt.

What is scary for state legislators who want to micromanage school spending is that voters in more than one third of school districts in the state approved referendums last year.

Rather than recognizing a systemic problem with insufficient school funding to meet operational and facility needs, and respecting the will of local voters to approve increasing local taxes to meet those needs, legislators instead want to put new rules in place to make it more difficult for local school districts.

The Wisconsin Legislature should focus on getting its own house in order before putting more limits on schools and local voters.

The Tribune Record Gleaner editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and Star News editor Brian Wilson.