Iola-Scandinavia School District proposes $7.6 million referendum
Across Wisconsin, 17 percent of the state’s school districts (72 of 421) are placing referendums on the April 2026 ballot to exceed the state-imposed revenue limits that cap how much money they can raise from local property taxes. More than 70 districts will have referendums in April: 60 for operational requests and others for capital building totaling over $1 billion.
Some proposals seek funds for bricks-and-mortar projects such as building additions or classroom upgrades. The vast majority, however, are operational referendums aimed at covering recurring day-to-day costs: teacher salaries, maintenance, program offerings, transportation, utilities, and basic operations.
“Wisconsin’s public schools lost 14,087 students this school year, with 68 out of 72 counties experiencing a decline in student enrollment,” according to Wisconsin Public Radio and the Department of Public Instruction.
A look at state funding
The root cause is well-documented. Wisconsin’s school funding formula, largely unchanged in structure since the 1990s and tightened after 2011, has not kept pace with inflation or rising costs. Adjusted for inflation, state aid has fallen short by roughly $3,300 to $3,500 per pupil since 2009. Districts have responded by turning to voters. Operational referendums have become routine; more than half of Wisconsin districts have relied on them at least once in the past decade simply to avoid cutting staff, classes, or extracurriculars.
The most recent detailed data comes from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s November 2025 report on 2025-26 general school aids (using 2024-25 pupil membership, equalized values, and shared costs). The report lists total net general aid payments for all 421 districts; per-pupil figures are calculated by dividing each district’s total net general aid by its pupil membership. Statewide totals are approximately $5.58 billion in aid for ~823,246 pupils (average ~$6,780 per pupil).
Highest per-pupil general state aid: Low-property-wealth (typically small, rural) districts receive the highest amounts due to the inverse relationship in the formula. Examples from the data include districts like Drummond or Sharon J11, with per-pupil amounts exceeding $13,000 (some analyses approach or exceed $16,000 for the very lowest-wealth cases). Wealthier districts (e.g., many suburban ones) receive $0 or very low amounts. Exact top values require dividing the report’s totals by membership, but these low-wealth districts top the list.
Median per-pupil general state aid across all districts: $5,318 (the middle value in the sorted list of all 421 districts’ per-pupil figures).
School District of Iola-Scandinavia ranking and amount: It receives a total net general aid payment of $4,520,867 with 669 pupils, for $6,758 per pupil. This ranks it about 149th out of 421 districts (above the median, in the upper half).
Supporters argue these measures are essential to preserve educational quality in the face of stagnant state support. Without them, they say, schools would face larger class sizes, eliminated programs, and deferred maintenance that ultimately harms students. Operational referendums are often used to avoid cuts rather than fund expansions.
Critics counter that the solution is not higher local taxes but greater efficiency inside districts and more responsibility from the state. They note that repeated overrides place a heavy burden on homeowners, especially seniors and those on fixed incomes, driving annual property-tax increases of 7-, 8-, and sometimes 10 percent or more.
Iola-Scandinavia referendum
One upcoming vote illustrates both the statewide pattern and its unique local pressures. On April 7, voters in the small rural School District of Iola-Scandinavia will decide on a four-year, non-recurring operational referendum renewal. If approved, the district would exceed its revenue limit by $1.6 million in the 2026-27 school year and by $2 million annually for 2027-28 through 2029-30. The money would sustain academic programming, student opportunities, and day-to-day operations.
The estimated property-tax impact is $41 per year for every $100,000 of assessed home value, or about $102 annually for a typical $250,000 home. District officials warn that failure would force program cuts, staff reductions, larger class sizes, delayed maintenance, and rapid depletion of reserves already strained by years of shortfalls.
“The proposed operational referendum renewal is about sustaining the academic programming, student opportunities, and day-to-day operations our community expects and values,” said Chris Nelson, District Administrator. “If approved, it would allow the district to maintain a high-quality educational environment while continuing to support students and staff in meaningful, responsible ways well into the future.”
The similarities with the statewide picture are clear. Like most districts, Iola-Scandinavia is grappling with the same chronic underfunding and inflation pressures that have made voter overrides common. Operational referendums have become a de facto part of school finance for more than half the state’s districts over the past decade.
Yet contrasts stand out. Iola-Scandinavia is a small rural district with declining enrollment, making every dollar of revenue more precious and every tax increase more noticeable. Unlike some larger districts seeking permanent increases, this is a time-limited renewal that will sunset after four years. Recent community meetings have highlighted specific taxpayer concerns, such as calls for greater transparency, questions about spending on seemingly small items, and frustration that enrollment-driven revenue losses are being shifted directly onto local property owners.
Pros and cons of multi-year referendums in the millions of dollars
Pros
Multi-year operating referendums offer several advantages for school districts. They provide administrators with greater certainty over an extended period, enabling better long-term planning for staffing, curriculum development, and facility maintenance instead of facing repeated annual budget shortfalls or voter exhaustion from frequent ballot measures. These larger authorizations support ongoing program enhancements and sustained improvements rather than just temporary fixes.
Districts also avoid the repeated costs and administrative burden of holding multiple elections, while reducing the potential for voter confusion that can arise from yearly requests.
Finally, such referendums create valuable breathing room for districts as state lawmakers continue debating broader, permanent solutions to school funding challenges.
Cons
On the other hand, these multi-year measures come with notable drawbacks. They commit taxpayers to elevated property tax rates for several years, even if economic conditions worsen, enrollment declines, or other unforeseen changes occur. The substantial dollar amounts involved can place a heavy strain on fixed-income households and seniors, frequently resulting in annual tax increases of 7 to 10 percent or more.
In addition, the added revenue may lessen incentives for districts to pursue internal cost-saving measures, such as greater operational efficiencies, shared services, or consolidations.
In areas experiencing falling student numbers, the tax burden per pupil can rise significantly while service levels remain calibrated to larger past enrollments.
Breaking the chain of referendums
To break free from this recurring pattern of local referendums and abrupt tax increases, education finance experts have proposed several practical, non-partisan reforms at the state level.
One approach would be to index the revenue-limit formula each year to actual inflation plus documented cost drivers, i.e., rising energy prices, insurance premiums, and unfunded special-education requirements, rather than relying on inflexible caps that increasingly fall short over time.
Another key step involves restoring general state aid to address the accumulated inflation-adjusted shortfall of an estimated $3,300 to $3,500 per pupil since 2009, thereby delivering more predictable base funding to districts without the need for local overrides.
States could also introduce targeted incentives, including matching grants or bonuses for shared services, to encourage voluntary consolidations in areas like transportation, purchasing, and administration, which would help lower per-pupil costs without reducing classroom resources.
Establishing a dedicated state-level capital-funding pool or bonding mechanism for major construction projects and maintenance would remove those large, one-time expenses from local operational referendums, allowing property taxes to focus more squarely on routine educational needs.
Finally, requiring independent efficiency audits and transparent, publicly accessible spending dashboards as a condition for approving any referendum would build greater voter trust by demonstrating that every requested dollar is truly essential.
Whether Iola-Scandinavia voters approve their renewal or Wisconsin lawmakers act on broader reforms, one reality remains: the current system depends on local property taxpayers and a continuous cycle of referendums, and not state government funding a majority of the cost. How long that remains politically and economically sustainable will be decided at the ballot box this spring and in the State Capitol in the years ahead.
AI assisted in article research.
