As previously reported, property taxes jumped this year after city voters passed two referendums in 2024 to help fund needed updates to Madison Metropolitan School District buildings and operations. A Cap Times report finds that the increase accounts for 17% of the rise in total tax levies statewide for K-12 schools.
“Property taxes levies for K-12 schools statewide grew by 7.8% this year, marking the largest percent increase in schools’ gross tax levies since 1992, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan research group,” the Cap Times writes.
No increase in state support, the approval of school referendums across Wisconsin and a jump in per pupil aid limits have all pushed school property tax levies higher.
The fall of 2024 ushered in the most referendums passed in Wisconsin’s history, including the two for Madison schools — $507 million to renovate or replace 10 schools and another $100 million for daily operations.
