Learning from home may have doomed school referendum questions

(The Center Square) – A new analysis suggests parents in Wisconsin punished their kids’ schools at the ballot box for staying closed during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty released its review of the Spring 2021 election this week. It says voters rejected almost 40% of the referendum questions on the ballot across the state.

“There were 71 referenda on the ballot around the state this spring. Voters only approved 42 of them — a 60.56% passage rate,” WILL’s Will Flanders wrote. “While this number may seem relatively high, it is actually extremely low in comparison to recent years.”

In the spring of 2020, nearly 85% of ballot questions passed. In 2018 that number was nearly 90%. In 2017, voters approved nearly 65% of questions. WILL’s analysis says the 2021 vote was the lowest success rate for local schools since 2013.

Flanders said local schools asked for more money from taxpayers, while many of them were closed, and that frustrated a lot of families across the state.

“Anecdotally, traveling across the state in the last year, I saw individuals being much more public in their opposition to more property tax increases for schools – from yard signs to political events. Taking this position used to be anathema. After all, who can oppose more money for schools?” Flanders told The Center Square. “But the infusion of funding from both the state and federal level in the past few years appears to be challenging that status quo notion. This round of referenda was one of the first chances voters had to express that feeling, and the results were intriguing.”

Wisconsin is not lacking in money for its public schools.

Flanders notes Wisconsin lawmakers have spent more on education every year since 2012. He’s also quick to point out that Wisconsin has received $2.2 billion in federal stimulus money since last spring. New numbers from the state’s Department of Public Instruction shows most of that money is going to the urban school districts in Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Racine, and Green Bay. Those schools are also the schools that were closed the longest. Milwaukee schools are just now bringing some students back for in-person classes.

Flanders said parents have taken notice.

“After this infusion of federal funding that will equal thousands of dollars per student in some districts, the seemingly relentless claims of poverty from districts will ring increasingly hollow,” he said. “Many parents have seen throughout this pandemic that districts serve teachers unions more than students, and don’t want to see that behavior further rewarded from their own pocket.”

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