Governor Tony Evers’ proposed state budget makes a number of school funding changes that are in addition to the “Fair Funding for our Future” reforms.
For example, in addition to an unprecedented increase in special education categorical aid (see previous post), the proposed budget also calls for per pupil increases in both school district revenue limits ($200 in 2019-20 and $204 in 2020-21) and the low revenue ceiling (to $9,700 in 2019-20 and to $10,000 in 2020-21).
Gov. Evers’ proposed budget would also increase sparsity aid funding to fully fund payments of $400 per pupil for districts with 745 or fewer students as well as to create a new aid tier of sparsity aid that would provide payments of $100 per pupil for districts with sparse populations and 746 or more students.
The WASB has received a copy of a memo from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau detailing the estimated district-by-district fiscal impact of all four of these proposed changes on each school district in the state.
School leaders in sparsely populated districts and those whose per pupil revenue limits fall below the low revenue ceiling amounts proposed in the governor’s budget may want to pay careful attention to the potential impact of those proposed changes on their district finances and communicate this to lawmakers.
View LFB memo on Special Education Aid, Sparsity Aid and Revenue Limit Impacts of Proposed Budget
