About two-thirds of Wisconsin public school districts are expected to receive less general aid this school year, according to estimates released by the state Department of Public Instruction.
Total general aid funding stayed flat at $5.58 billion for a third straight year. The department estimates 62% of the state's 421 districts will get less aid than in 2025-26, about 36% will get more, and nine will see no change.
General aid is the largest form of state support for Wisconsin schools and helps pay for day-to-day operations. It also offsets how much districts must raise through local property taxes, and districts use the estimates when building their budgets.
The department said the state's funding formula can shift each district's share widely when total aid stays flat, because enrollment, spending and property values change at different rates in different places. Aid figures may still be adjusted after the statewide enrollment count on the second Friday in January.
Milwaukee Public Schools is now estimated to receive about $10.5 million more than last year, a 1.5% increase, while Wauwatosa is estimated to get $8.5 million more, nearly 56% more. At the other end, Hustisford is projected to receive about $433,000 less, a drop of about 32%.
The department also said hundreds of millions of dollars will be redirected from district general aid to private school choice and independent charter programs. State funding for choice and special needs scholarship programs is estimated at about $750 million this year, and about $398.5 million of that is to be drawn from public districts' general aid for the Wisconsin and Racine parental choice programs and the Special Needs Scholarship Program.
