(WI) State budget SPED increase still not enough; districts seeing more special needs kids

July 10, 2025, Ozaukee Co News: More than they thought, less than they wanted: State budget still short of recommended 60% special ed funding for schools

https://www.gmtoday.com/news_graphic/news/school-budget-impact-special-ed/article_eec3d519-4131-5dd1-8df2-25abbf109679.html 

It was certainly not the special education funding requested or needed, but the reimbursement rate included in the recently approved Wisconsin state budget was significantly more than what was on the table just a week ago.

School superintendents across the state had requested a 60% increase in special ed funding, pointing to a 2019 study that showed that is what was needed to close the gap between mandated special education services and the state and federal funds available to pay for those services.

The current reimbursement rate is 32.1%. The state’s Joint Committee on Finance had recommended a 35% level of reimbursement.

What was ultimately approved in the state budget is 42% of special education costs in the first year of the budget, and 45% the second year.

But not all districts may see that.

Grafton School District Business Services Director Topher Adams said the aid is “sum-certain,” not “sum-sufficient.”

“Sum sufficient means they will fully fund the cost, while sum certain means they will prorate the amount districts get if the costs are more than the state budget allocation,” Adams said. “So we can’t really count on 42% reimbursement.”

The Grafton School District has seen the number of special education students increase from 293 in the 2021-22 school year to 349 in 2023-24.

Adams said the district is fortunate in that its increased enrollment will help reduce how much it must transfer from its general fund to its special education funding, freeing up money to benefit all students by roughly $320,000, or about 1% of the budget.

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The district is likely one of the luckier ones.

“Other districts may have smaller deficits, fewer cuts or a reduced reliance on operating referendums as few districts have increasing enrollment like ours,” Adams said.

But he did add that the lack of an increase for equalization aid is concerning as the cost of the increased revenue limit per pupil of $325 will be borne by taxpayers.

“That is a challenge that will be faced by all districts,” Adams said.

The number of special education students in the Cedarburg School District has also been on the rise. There were 343 students classified as special ed in the 2023-24 school year, 370 in the 2024-25 school year and 377 projected for the 2025-26 school year.

Mequon-Thiensville School Superintendent Matthew Joynt declined to comment on the issue, as he still needs time to consider the full ramifications of the draft budget. But Joynt has been outspoken on the issue, co-authoring a column last month that property taxes are rising, primarily due to 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‚”

Joynt wrote along with former MTSD School Superintendent and former Wauwatosa School Superintendent Demond Means and Cathy Olig, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance. “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.”