With Wisconsin’s Nov. 3 election approaching, leaders of Madison Teachers Inc. are calling for a state school-funding system that accounts for students’ needs and reduces reliance on local property taxes. The union’s priorities include directing more state aid to districts based on factors such as students’ economic circumstances and English-language learning needs, increasing the state’s reimbursement for special education costs to 90%, and adjusting funding to reflect inflation and other rising expenses. “We know our schools have been starved by the Legislature and governor for 15 years,” said union president Andrea Missureli, who took the role last summer. She said districts cannot keep relying on repeated referendums to cover operating costs. Executive director Jeff Knight said the current system also places a heavy burden on Madison property taxpayers. The average Madison home, valued at about $500,000, saw its school-related property taxes rise 16%, or $683, this year. The district’s proposed 2026-27 budget would add another 6.4%, or $311, for the average home. The budget is expected to be finalized later this month. Madison voters approved $507 million in 2024 to renovate or replace 10 schools, along with $100 million for day-to-day operations. The measures contributed to the district’s property-tax levy reaching its highest level in nearly three decades. Statewide, voters approved a record number of school referendums that fall. Wisconsin’s main state funding formula distributes aid among more than 400 public school districts using factors that include enrollment, local property wealth and district spending. Enrollment also helps determine how much districts can raise through property taxes and receive from the state. Madison officials have said the formula contributes to about 90% of the district’s budget coming from local property taxes. Knight and Missureli argue that the formula should consider what it costs to educate students with different needs, rather than relying heavily on district wealth and spending. State Superintendent Jill Underly has also criticized the formula, saying students’ opportunity to succeed should not depend on their ZIP code. The union says the state should raise its special education reimbursement rate to 90%. The district’s proposed budget assumes lawmakers will fulfill a commitment to increase the rate to 45%, which would bring Madison more than $5 million. Knight said Madison absorbs nearly 60% of its special education costs, despite families’ need for those services and resources. The funding debate comes as Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley and Republican candidate Tom Tiffany have both called for increased public school funding, though their proposals differ. Control of the state Assembly and Senate is also at stake; Republicans have held majorities in both chambers since 2011. A lawsuit filed by 19 parents, teachers and school districts argues that state funding has not kept up with inflation and has harmed student outcomes. The Madison School Board endorsed the suit this summer. The union’s endorsements in the governor’s and legislative races were expected to be posted in the days after its leaders discussed the funding priorities. Early voting has begun, and Election Day is Nov. 3.