Public education in Wisconsin

K-12 education in Wisconsin

Education facts

State superintendent: Jill Underly

Number of students: 846,693

Number of teachers: 59,263

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:14.2

Number of school districts: 423

Number of schools: 2,176

Graduation rate: 90%

Per-pupil spending: $12,740

See also

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction • List of school districts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Wisconsin Glossary of education terms

Note: The statistics on this page are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of June 2015.

The Wisconsin public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2022, Wisconsin had 846,693 students enrolled in a total of 2,176 schools in 423 school districts. There were 59,263 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 14 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. In 2020, Wisconsin spent on average $12,740 per pupil.^[1] The state's graduation rate was 90 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.^[2]

General information

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Wisconsin compares to the national level for the most recent years for which data is available.

Academic performance

The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Wisconsin had a higher percentage of students score at or above proficient in all categories than students in Illinois and Michigan. However, students in Wisconsin fell below those in Minnesota.^[3]

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Wisconsin and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.^[3][4][5]

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.^[6]

Wisconsin schools reported a graduation rate of 88 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, highest among neighboring states.

In Wisconsin, more students took the ACT than the SAT in 2013, earning an average ACT score of 22.1.

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Wisconsin was lower than the national average at 2 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 1.9 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.^[7]

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Wisconsin

As of June 2015 school choice options in Wisconsin included charter schools, parental choice voucher programs, private school tuition tax deductions, homeschooling, online learning, private schools and public school open enrollment policies.

Developments

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Media coverage and commentary
U.S. Supreme Court 2019-2020 term
Blaine Amendment (U.S. Constitution)
Blaine amendments in state constitutions
School choice on the ballot
Education on the ballot

See also: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue

On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which concerned whether the government can exclude religious institutions from student-aid programs. The case related to Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, also known as Montana’s Blaine Amendment.^[8]

In its 5-4 opinion, the court held that the application of Article X, Section 6 violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held Article X, Section 6 barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their children to those schools from receiving public benefits because of the religious character of the school.^[9]

The case addressed the tension between the free exercise and Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution—where one guarantees the right of individuals' free exercise of religion and the other guarantees that the state won't establish a religion—and the intersections of state constitutions with state law and with the U.S. Constitution.

Wisconsin is one of the states with a Blaine Amendment.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Wisconsin state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2013
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.^[10][11]

Wisconsin spent approximately 16.2 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. School system revenue came primarily from local funds. Wisconsin spent the second lowest percentage of its total budget on public education when compared to its neighboring states.

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.^[11]

In Wisconsin, the primary source of school system revenue was local funding during fiscal year 2013, at $5.1 billion. Wisconsin reported nearly the same total revenue as Minnesota during fiscal year 2013.

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.^[12]

Public education expenditures in Wisconsin totaled approximately $10.6 billion in fiscal year 2012. Wisconsin reported nearly the same total expenditures as Minnesota during fiscal year 2013.

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Wisconsin, the average salary decreased by 1.9 percent.^[14]

Organizations

State agencies

See also: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is in charge of advancing public education and libraries in Wisconsin.^[15] The department is led by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Tony Evers was first elected to the position in April 2009 and re-elected in 2013.^[16]

The Department of Public Instruction is divided into six divisions: the Office of the State Superintendent, the Division for Academic Excellence, the Division for Finance and Management, the Division for Learning Support, the Division for Libraries and Technology and the Division for Student and School Success.^[17]

Unions

In 2012, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Wisconsin ranked 18th overall for union power and influence, or "strong," which was in the second tier of five.^[18]

Issues

Wisconsin Act 10

See also: Wisconsin Act 10, the "Scott Walker Budget Repair Bill" (2011)

In 2011, protests erupted over a bill, referred to as either Wisconsin Bill 10 or Assembly Bill 11 (AB 11), that required state employees to contribute an average of eight percent more to their pension and health care costs and took away the right of collective bargaining.^[19] Governor Scott Walker said that asking employees to pay half the national average for health care was "truly a modest request." Walker also denied that his proposal tried to break unions.^[20]

Up to 40,000 union protesters filled the state capitol for a week after the bill was proposed.^[19][21][22]

To avoid a vote on the measure, 14 Senate Democrats disappeared and could not be found.^[23] They reportedly went to a hotel in Illinois.^[19] Republicans controlled the Senate by 19 to 14, but to have a vote on fiscal matters, 20 senators had to be present. Without any guarantee that the Democrats would return to the vote, the bill could not progress at that time.^[23]

In early March, 2011, a joint committee was created in Wisconsin legislature that amended AB 11, removing financial aspects of the bill so that the 20 senator requirement could be lifted. The bill was passed in the Senate at an 18-to-1 vote.^[24]

The bill was also passed in the Wisconsin State Assembly and signed into law by Governor Walker. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk then sued to stop the bill, asking it to be declared unconstitutional. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order on the bill, freezing its implementation. The state Attorney General's Office challenged this decision, and eventually the restraining order was lifted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in June of 2011.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

In 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court once again met to debate the bill. It upheld its ruling that the law was constitutional, effectively ending the debate for good.^[30]

Union Benefit Cuts

The governor's budget proposed state employees contribute 5.8 percent of their salary toward their pensions and pay 12.6 percent of their health insurance premiums.^[21] The move was anticipated to save nearly $300 million over the following two fiscal years.^[31]

Collective Bargaining

The governor's proposed budget also eliminated almost all union bargaining rights.^[31]

The proposal took away collective bargaining rights on everything except salary from state and local workers. Unions would be unable to seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. In addition, unions also would have to hold annual votes to stay organized and would be unable to force employees to pay dues.^[19]

Republican lawmakers said collective bargaining rules must be changed so the government could avoid laying off thousands of workers.^[32] Gov. Walker said that he would have to lay off up to 6,000 state workers if the measure did not pass.^[19]

The proposal allowed local police, firefighters and state troopers to retain their bargaining rights.^[19]

In the case of a walkout, Walker put the National Guard on alert.^[33]

School Closures

More than 15 school districts, including the Madison Metropolitan School District, were closed for four days due to teachers and staff calling in sick.^[34][35] Judge Maryann Sumi of the Dane County District Court denied the Madison school district requests for an injunction against Madison Teachers Inc. so that schools could reopen.^[34]

Tax-payer funded lobbyists

See also: Wisconsin government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

Transparency

A year after the Citizens for Responsible Government launched a transparency spending database for Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Public Schools launched its own database, which allows searches for school purchases from 2005 and on.^[36][37][38]

Studies and reports

Quality Counts 2014

See also: Education Week survey

Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 uses six different categories:

1. Chance for success
2. K-12 achievement
3. Standards, assessments and accountability
4. The teaching profession
5. School finance
6. Transitions and alignment

Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.

Wisconsin received a score of 82.4, or a B- average in the "chance for success" category. This was above the national average. The state's highest score was in "transitions and alignment" at 85.7, or a B average. The lowest score was in "K-12 achievement" at 72.1, or a C- average. Wisconsin had the highest score in the "transitions and alignment" category when compared to neighboring states. The chart below displays the scores of Wisconsin and its surrounding states.^[39]

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

ABCs of school choice

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice publishes a comprehensive guide to private school choice programs across the U.S. In its 2014 edition, the Foundation reviewed four Wisconsin programs: the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Private School Choice Program, the statewide Parental Choice Program and the K-12 Private School Tuition Deduction Program.^[40] The full Friedman Foundation report can be found here.

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

School districts

See also: School board elections portal

District types

Wisconsin contains multiple types of school districts described below:^[41]

• Common school district: A district operating schools in a city with less than 150,000 residents. Common school districts are required by state law to host an annual board meeting on the fourth Monday in July.
• First-class city district: A district operating schools in a city with 150,000 or more residents. As of July 2014, Milwaukee is the only first-class city in Wisconsin.^[42]
• Joint school district: A district serving K-12 students from two or more municipalities.
• Unified school district: A district operating schools in a city or group of cities with less than 150,000 residents. Unlike common school districts, unified school districts are not required to host annual board meetings.
• Union high school district: A district serving high school students from two or more municipalities. Union high school districts are required by state law to host an annual board meeting on the third Monday in July.

School board composition

Wisconsin school board members are generally elected by residents of the school district, although some school board members are appointed to fill vacancies until the next election for the seat is held. Wisconsin school board elections typically follow one of these two methods, or a mixture thereof:^[41]

• At-large: All voters residing in the school district may vote for any candidates running, regardless of geographic location.
• Trustee area: Only voters residing in a specific geographic area within the school district may vote on certain candidates, who must also reside in that specific geographic area.

School boards consists of three, five, seven or nine members. Board members serve terms of three or four years.^[41]

Term limits

Wisconsin does not impose statewide term limits on school board members. However, terms limits on school board members can still be imposed on the local level.^[41]

Elections

See also: Wisconsin school board elections, 2024

The table below contains links to all school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2024 in this state. This list may not include all school districts with elections in 2024. Ballotpedia's coverage includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.

Editor's note: Some school districts choose to cancel the primary election, or both the primary and general election, if the number of candidates who filed does not meet a certain threshold. The table below does not reflect which primary or general elections were canceled. Please click through to each school district's page for more information.

Path to the ballot

To qualify for the ballot as a school board candidate in Wisconsin, a person must be:^[43]

• 18 years of age or older
• A resident of the district for at least 10 days before the election

Each candidate submits a Campaign Registration Statement and a Declaration of Candidate to the school district clerk. State law also requires a minimum number of signatures from district residents to qualify candidates for the ballot. The signature threshold is divided into three categories:^[43]

• First-class cities: 400-800 valid signatures
• Second-class cities: 100-200 valid signatures
• Other cities with no overlap with first-class or second-class cities: 20-100 valid signatures

Campaign finance

State law allows candidates to claim exempt status from campaign finance reporting if contributions and expenditures do not exceed $1,000 during a calendar year. Campaign finance reports and exemption claims are submitted to the school district clerk.^[44]

Recent legislation

The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Wisconsin state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Education ballot measures

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Wisconsin ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following statewide ballot measures relating to education.

1. Wisconsin Question 6, Repeal of Draft Exemption Purchase Amendment (1982)
2. Wisconsin School Release for Religious Instruction Amendment, Question 4 (April 1972)
3. Wisconsin State Control and Funding of Vocational Education, Question 3 (April 1969)
4. Wisconsin Local Debt Limit and School Bonds Amendment, Question 2 (April 1963)
5. Wisconsin Local Debt Limit for School Districts Amendment, Question 1 (April 1961)
6. Wisconsin Teacher Retirement Benefits Amendment, Question 1 (April 1956)
7. Wisconsin School Debt Limit Amendment, Question 1 (April 1955)
8. Wisconsin Public Television Advisory, Question 2 (1954)
9. Wisconsin Transportation to Schools Amendment, Question 2 (1946)
10. Wisconsin Property Tax for School Aid Referendum, Question 1 (April 1944)
11. Wisconsin Teacher Tenure Law Repeal Referendum, Question 1 (April 1940)
12. Wisconsin State Superintendent Amendment, Question 2 (1902)
13. Wisconsin State Superintendent Salary Amendment, Question 1 (1896)
14. Wisconsin State Superintendent Amendment, Question 1 (1888)
15. Wisconsin Transportation for Private School Students Amendment, Question 7 (April 1967)

In the news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wisconsin education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

• Historical public education information in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin state budget and finances
• Wisconsin Department of Education
• List of school districts in Wisconsin
• School choice in Wisconsin
• Charter schools in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
• Wisconsin School Performance
• Wisconsin School Finance
• Milwaukee Public Schools Spending Tracker
• Wisconsin Public School Ratings by PSK12
• Wisconsin Public School Ratings by Great Schools

Footnotes

	v • e State of Wisconsin Madison (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy