WI: OP ED calls for lawmakers to increase SPED funding to avoid tax hike

June 10, 2025, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawmakers should listen to their own commission and fully fund special education | Opinion

Wisconsin taxpayers are facing an undeniable truth: your property taxes are rising, and the primary culprit is the state's persistent failure to fund public education, particularly for students with disabilities, adequately.

Here's the simple math: When the state shirks its constitutional duty to provide appropriate funding for students with disabilities, it leaves school districts with an impossible choice. To ensure that all students, including those with special needs, receive the education they deserve, districts are eventually forced to propose a referendum, increasing the local tax levy. This isn't a desire for more money; it's a desperate measure to fill a gaping hole left by state inaction.

Instead of investing in our students on the front end, your state government is deliberately passing the buck, transforming a state responsibility into a localized property tax hike. Wisconsinites are paying with a record number of operational referendums to fill this gap.

State budget under consideration can fix school funding.

The good news? This crisis is fixable, and the solution lies within reach as elected officials finalize the state budget in the coming weeks.

Over six years ago, the state legislature acknowledged the severity of public school funding and established a bipartisan Blue Ribbon Commission. This committee traveled across Wisconsin, holding extensive meetings and hearing directly from dedicated school and community leaders.

The message was undeniable: if sufficient special education funding were provided, and if per-pupil funding kept pace with inflation, most school districts would not need to ask local taxpayers for additional funding to support operational costs. To their credit, the committee listened intently, and their comprehensive report recommended a crucial 60% reimbursement level for special education costs.

Six years later, what happened? A dismal 30% reimbursement rate.  That's a full 60% lower than the funding the state provides to private schools. This disparity is not only unjust; it directly contributes to your rising property tax bill.

Lawmakers must implement Blue Ribbon Commission recommendations

The state of Wisconsin has the financial capacity to adequately support students with disabilities, to invest in all students, and, crucially, to protect property taxpayers from these ever-increasing burdens. The solution isn't complicated; it requires legislators to implement the Blue Ribbon Commission recommendations they received and endorsed over six years ago.

Imagine the impact: a win-win scenario that alleviates the tax burden on hardworking Wisconsin families while simultaneously providing all students, including our most vulnerable, with the resources they need to thrive.

This would be a monumental accomplishment. Let's demand that our elected officials finally act on their recommendations and work together to make 60% special education reimbursement a reality.

Demond Means is superintendent of the Wauwatosa School District. Matthew Joynt is superintendent of the Mequon-Thiensville School District. Cathy Olig is executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, which consists of 26 member school districts, including Wauwatosa and Mequon-Thiensville, serving and advocating for 180,000 public school students.