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261 Wisconsin school districts face lower state aid in 2026-27, DPI says
Preliminary figures show 261 of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts would receive less general aid next school year than this year. The state’s $5.58 billion general school aid appropriation is unchanged for a third straight year.
MADISON, Wis. — More than three in five Wisconsin school districts are set to receive less state general school aid in the 2026-27 school year, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by the state Department of Public Instruction.
The department said 261 of the state’s 421 districts would get less aid than in 2025-26. The figures give districts an initial look at the state support they could receive next school year.
Wisconsin’s general school aid appropriation remains $5.58 billion, the same amount as the previous two years, DPI said. The statewide total does not mean every district’s share is unchanged: the preliminary figures show aid declining for most districts.
The figures concern general state aid, one part of school district finances. They do not, by themselves, describe changes in districts’ total revenue or explain why individual allocations are rising or falling.