MPS board votes to put $252 million referendum on April ballot
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The board for Wisconsin's biggest school district decided Thursday night it will ask voters for additional funding this spring through a property tax increase.
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has been weighing whether to put a referendum question on the April ballot. The board considered three options at a special meeting Thursday night. The biggest ask of voters would've generate $262 million for the district through the 2027-28 school year. The second choice called for $252 million over that same timeframe while the third option was for a $244 million funding boost.
While district administrators recommended pursuing the most modest option at $244 million, the board voted 7-1 to adopt the $252 million referendum.
According to a presentation produced by MPS' administrative office, the middle second option carries a $216 property tax hike. The increase under the third option would have been $197.
Darryl Jackson was the lone director who voted no while Aisha Carr voted to abstain. Carr said she was conflicted because she agreed with the majority about the state Legislature shortchanging school districts, but she added the district wasn't holding itself accountable either.
District leaders have cited state funding failing to keep up with inflation as a main driver of the budget shortfall. An MPS analysis concluded the district would receive $210 million more per year if state aid kept pace with inflation since the 2011-12 school year.
Without the additional funding, district leaders told the board MPS would have to make about $200 million in cuts by the 2025 fiscal year.
"We can't fail our children," Jilly Gokalgandhi, the vice president of the school board, said. "No one is saying it's perfect, but this is worth fighting for, and the numbers are plain and simple."
If Milwaukee voters approve the referendum on the April 2 ballot, the funding would go toward "educational programming, including offering
career and technical education programs." The money would also help the district keep and attract teachers while also solidifying funding for art, music, physical education and language classes.
MPS received more than $770 million over three rounds of federal pandemic aid. The most recent spending data provided by the district, running through June 2023, shows MPS has more than $83 million of that amount yet to be either spend or earmarked for a specific use.
The district has allocated, but not yet spent, more than $377 million.
At the same time, the Legislature cited federal pandemic aid as a reason for not increasing state aid in the 2021-22 budget, which supporters of the referendum noted Thursday.
"The state budget failed to provide basic funding for public education, leaving school districts across the state of Wisconsin high and dry, including MPS," Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association President Amy Mizialko said.
Milwaukee voters approved an $87 million referendum in 2020. Asking residents for another tax hike could be challenging this year since a new 2% city sales tax took effect earlier this month.
Milwaukee County's sales tax also increased from 0.5% to 0.9% as part of a new shared revenue law that increased state aid for all local governments. Before last year, shared revenue from the Legislature had remained stagnant for nearly two decades.
Other speakers during the public comment portion questioned why the district's presentation didn't illustrate how exactly $200 million in cuts would impact students and their families.
"I was a little, maybe, disappointed or wanting to see more in the administration's presentation about maybe what some of the recovery scenarios need to look like," Rich Steenwyk, a parent of three MPS students, said.
Quinton Klabon, who does work for the conservative-leaning Institute for Reforming Government, told the board he was representing only himself in his remarks Thursday.
Klabon said declining enrollment made it inevitable MPS will have to close and consolidate schools in the coming years. He suggested the district figure that out before asking taxpayers for more money.
According to state enrollment data, MPS has gone from 75,431 students in the 2018-19 school year to 67,500 in 2022-23, a reflection of students leaving the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Your average family does not know the shock that's ahead of them," Klabon said. "Taxing them more and then closing their schools will infuriate them. Watch the school board meetings in Green Bay, Wausau, Kenosha and more."
District and teacher's union leaders have said the district's budget gap is worsened by a state-imposed, per-pupil property tax revenue limit that is smaller than neighboring districts, such as Nicolet and Brown Deer.
Wisconsin uses a complex formula to determine how much aid school districts receive from the state, as well as what the limit is on how much they can levy in property taxes.