Public school supporters say referendums are necessary, but the legislature needs to step up

Two school districts in Brown County are among 71 districts statewide requesting voter approval of operational referendums in the spring election on April 7.  Recent referendums were passed for the De Pere, Ashwaubenon, and Green Bay school districts. 

There was a consensus among the speakers at an education press conference on April 1 about why so many districts are seeking additional revenue from taxpayers: the lack of financial support for public schools from the state legislature.  

State Sen. Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) insisted school districts would prefer not to ask voters for funding.  

“I've talked to enough school superintendents and school board members to know this isn't an easy choice,” Wall said. “They don't enjoy having to ask their neighbors to increase their own property taxes to fund the local schools. And they'd also appreciate being able to predict a few years out what kind of funding they're going to have without having to go to the voters. It's tough.”

With more than a $2 billion state budget surplus, Wall, himself a product of public schools in Wisconsin, laid the blame solely on Republicans, noting they had run the legislature for the past 15 years. 

“It's also a fact that during that time, Wisconsin has consistently slipped in the ranking of states and how much money we devote to schools per school kid,” said Wall.  “So we have the resources right now to be able to do good things, both for our school children and for our property taxpayers.”

Peggy Wirtz-Olsen's role as President of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) is to advocate for fair school funding, public education improvements, and support for educators. She said that, despite the ongoing funding shortfall, teachers’ dedication has never waivered.

“If I impart one lesson using my teacher's voice today, it's this: there's no greater civic duty than voting for public schools that are the cornerstone of our democracy,” she said. “When we stand together, we're not just voting for our schools, we are voting for the future that Wisconsin deserves.”

The Appleton Area School District and the Menasha Joint School District  also both have operational referendums on the April 7 ballot.  While supporting the need for the referendums, Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton) called them mere Band-Aids and said the solution was fixing the funding process itself. She pointed out that the districts are not to blame and have been implementing cost-saving measures for years, such as closing schools and reducing positions. Now, she said. there is no more to cut.

“(Referendums) are a direct result of a massive failure in leadership from the Republican controlled legislature over the last 15 years,” she asserted. “We need new leadership in Madison. We need new leadership because our health care, our housing, our childcare, our groceries, our energy bills, all of that is too expensive, and we need new leadership because our students deserve good schools, and yet it's just wrong to continue to force our communities to bear the expense.”

Amy Nasr, who has a business background, highlighted the importance of quality public education to the local economy and the state of Wisconsin, saying Wisconsin is being left behind in the new economy and job market. 

“Schools aren’t running referendums because they’re greedy or managing funds poorly,” she said. “We have the data to prove that school districts all across our state have been suffering through chronic underfunding for the last 17 years; doing more with less.”

The referendums around the state are known as operational referendums, which seek funding to maintain current programming and cover ongoing expenses, such as utility costs and facility maintenance.

The election is April 7. 

Public school supporters say referendums are necessary, but the legislature needs to step up © 2026 by Carol Lenz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0