Legislative Advocacy Priorities
Wisconsin State Biennial Budget
Sustaining fiscal strength is necessary for the vitality of our schools and community. We ask Wisconsin state lawmakers to consider funding and policy decisions that will support MTSD schools.
Wisconsin’s public school districts face significant financial challenges due to stagnant state funding and revenue limits established in 1994. These limits, which rely on state aid and local property taxes, have not kept up with inflation. As a result, more than 80% of districts statewide have approved operational referenda to maintain essential programs. Adequate and predictable funding is crucial for the strength of our schools and community. We urge Wisconsin lawmakers to prioritize funding and policies that support the Mequon-Thiensville School District and eliminate the need for continual operating referenda.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Categorical aid is state or federal aid that is intended to finance or reimburse some specific category or instructional or supporting program, or to aid a particular target group of pupils. The district may only use the aid for the purpose for which it was paid. (source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction).
Per-pupil categorical aid is provided by the state, and is allocated to districts based on their three-year average for enrollment. This type of revenue is preferred because it is actual dollars that the district can put directly into the classroom, whereas state equalization aid lowers the tax levy and does not create any additional revenue for the district.
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Strategic Compensation is MTSD’s approach to attract, retain, and grow talented employees while aligning professional behaviors and job performance with our goals and objectives. There are four funding priorities within the employee strategic compensation system:
- Performance Increases
- Cost of Living Adjustments
- Health Care Benefits
- Retirement Benefits
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To keep pace with surrounding districts, MTSD will need to plan for at least a 4% increase in compensation for staff. This increase alone creates a significant budget deficit. Without an increase in funding from the state, MTSD may need to consider increasing class sizes, eliminating courses, lowering the increase in compensation for staff members, or freezing wages altogether.
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Going into the 2021-22 school year, the MTSD employee retention rate had registered above 90 percent since at least 2018. At the conclusion of the most challenging hiring season we’ve experienced in years, the employee retention rate decreased seven percentage points to 87.11%.
- 2022 - 87.11%
- 2021 - 94.13%
- 2020 - 92.88%
- 2019 - 90.89%
- 2018 - 90.68%
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In Mequon and Thiensville, we are lucky to have an active and engaged local business community, who have supported our public school students through an array of partnerships and mentorships, exposing students to various fields and areas of expertise. In MTSD, we believe it is the responsibility of the entire community to ensure our children have what they need to become successful members of society. Our students are our future workforce and each child’s journey toward their post-secondary educational and career aspirations requires unique supports.
Without a predictable and sustainable funding system, the opportunities we are able to provide to our students will become limited. The broad range of educational activities we currently offer our students cannot be maintained without adequate financial support from the state. For students who rely on exposure to career options and experiences within the school environment, the loss of these opportunities would have a detrimental impact on their growth and ultimately, could limit their future contributions to our community.
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Ideally, the funding pays for the salaries of personnel, equipment, materials, and other contracted educational services that, under federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation, school districts are legally mandated to provide for the purpose of ensuring a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for every student who qualifies for an IEP. At a 27.5% special education reimbursement rate in Wisconsin, the current reality means that districts are required to cover the vast majority of costs associated with educating students with special needs.
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Currently we have 357 students receiving services through an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which is 10% of our student population. Over the past 10 years, we have ranged from servicing 316 (9%) to 414 (11.6%) students with IEPs.
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In a time that inflation is hitting levels not seen in 40 years, public schools are in dire need of additional state funding. In Wisconsin, public school districts have not had a per pupil adjustment that has kept pace with the rate of inflation for 14 years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The state of Wisconsin has dropped from 11th to 25th in funding public education compared to the nation. In the 2021-23 Biennial Budget school districts were told to rely on one-time federal COVID relief funds to make ends meet, further contributing to the fiscal cliff.
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If MTSD is not able to secure adequate state funding, we may not have the budget available to afford current levels of staffing and programming, negatively impacting the high-quality instruction and opportunities we offer our students. Additionally, we will lack the flexibility to make competitive salary offers to attract and retain the best educators. We will have to dip further into the general education fund to cover expenses related to covering the gap in funding for special education services. Without proper funding, MTSD will face unprecedented challenges in providing our students with the education that our school community demands and that our children deserve.
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Please visit MyVote website to search for the elected officials in your district. State contacts for Mequon and Thiensville are listed on the right sidebar.
12/15/25 Op Ed on State Aid for Schools and Property Taxes from SWSA Leadership
Local school district leaders representing the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance (SWSA) recently penned an editorial that was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and shared widely around the state. The article can be viewed in full below.
You'll pay more in property taxes. Thank Wisconsin lawmakers.
Lawmakers provided $0 in new general school aid over the biennium, a first in modern Wisconsin history. As a result, the majority of districts will receive less state support this year.
By: Laurie Burgos, Matthew Joynt, Deborah Kerr, Jeffrey Weiss, Todd Alan Price, and Cathy Olig
State elected officials have knowingly passed the buck to homeowners in the form of local property tax increases when they chose not to adequately fund the state-controlled school finance formula in the current state budget. This month, taxpayers will see the direct impact on their property tax bills.
The state legislature has abandoned Wisconsin’s long-standing commitment to funding two-thirds of public education, shifting more of the cost onto local property taxpayers. Lawmakers provided $0 in new general school aid over the biennium, a first in modern Wisconsin history. As a result, the majority of districts will receive less state support this year, leaving school boards with only two choices: raise local property taxes or make massive cuts to essential educational programs.
Despite historic funding claims from both sides of the aisle, 63% of school districts have held operating referendums in the past three years. Why? Because state investment has not kept up with inflation, and the cost of running a school district has only increased, with double-digit increases in health insurance, utility costs, and the costs of offering highly desired programming such as construction, nursing, and engineering career pathways.
School districts are feeling the effects of inflation, just as manufacturers, farmers, and homeowners are. And unlike the private sector, public schools can't simply raise prices. Instead, they must reduce costs, meaning a reduced investment in students.
Special education reimbursement falling well short of promised 42%
Additional financial strain comes from the cost of special education services, which public schools must provide. It is important to note that state elected officials did invest in special education in the current state budget, but reimbursement is falling well short of the promised 42%. Latest estimates predict a 35% reimbursement rate, meaning school districts will need to transfer 65% of the cost from their general fund to support special education services. Meanwhile, private voucher schools receive 90% reimbursement for special education costs.
When a public school district can offer a broad and rigorous range of academic, co-curricular, and student-support programs, families are more likely to choose the community for their home. Well-funded public schools stabilize housing markets and attract businesses looking for a well-educated workforce and a lively, family-oriented community. When we invest in high-quality public education, we are not just supporting schools; we are supporting the health of the entire community. Well-funded public schools increase property values, enhance community vitality, and help develop the talent pipeline that sustains our state and national economies.
Public school leaders don’t want to rely on an endless cycle of referendums and local property tax increases. The constant cycle of partisan bickering and political talking points must stop. None of this is good for our students or taxpayers.
Laurie Burgos is superintendent, Shorewood School District; Matthew Joynt is superintendent, Mequon-Thiensville School District; Deborah Kerr is superintendent, St. Francis Public School District; Jeffrey Weiss is superintendent, Kenosha Unified School District; and Todd Alan Price is board chair of the Kenosha Unified School District. Cathy Olig is executive director of Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, which consists of 28 member school districts, serving and advocating for 185,000 public school students.