State Aid for Area Schools
PdC, Seneca school districts
may see drop in aid; River Ridge and
Wauzeka-Steuben may get increase
By Ted Pennekamp
More than half of Wisconsin public school districts will receive less general aid in the 2015‑16 school year than they did for the 2014‑15 school year according to estimates by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
Although the 2015‑17 state budget has not been finalized, the most recent version of the biennial budget maintains the same level of general school aid ($4.476 billion) as was appropriated in the 2014‑15 fiscal year. Actual aid payments are estimated at $4.346 billion because of statutory reductions for the Milwaukee voucher program and for independent (2R) charter schools. Of the state’s 424 school districts, 55 percent (234) are estimated to receive less general aid in 2015-16, while 44 percent of districts (188) are expected to receive more aid. Two districts have no change in the aid estimate between the 2014‑15 and 2015‑16 fiscal years. With school aid being held at the same level as the prior year, other factors such as property valuation, enrollment, and shared costs in the general equalization aid formula impact whether the aid estimate for a district increases or decreases.
As of July 1, the general aid for the Prairie du Chien Area School District is estimated at $6,916,023 for the 2015-16 school year. The actual aid for the 2014-15 school year was $7,258,288. General aid for Prairie du Chien is estimated to decrease $342,265 which is a drop of 4.72 percent.
The estimate for River Ridge for 2015-16 is $3,515,774. The actual general aid for River Ridge for the 2014-15 school year was $3,129,588. This an increase of $386,186 which is an increase of 12.34 percent.
The estimate for Seneca is $1,577,155 for 2015-16. The actual aid for Seneca for 2014-15 was $1,658,020. General aid for Seneca is estimated to decrease $80,865 which is a decrease of 4.88 percent.
The estimate for Wauzeka-Steuben for 2015-16 is $2,606,775. The actual aid for Wauzeka-Steuben in 2014-15 was $2,457,318. Wauzeka-Steuben is estimated to get an increase of $149,457 which is an increase of 6.08 percent.
School personnel use the DPI general state aid estimate to complete their annual budgets. On Oct. 15, the DPI will certify state general aid amounts for 2015‑16. Estimated general aid to districts may change at that time.
The general aid estimate does not include per pupil categorical aid, which will be based on student membership from the 2015-16, 2014‑15, and 2013‑14 school years (third Friday in September count). That aid will be paid in March 2016. The current budget appropriates $127 million for that aid, which is $150 per pupil, the same amount as it was in the 2014‑15 fiscal year.
School funding is complex, and just because a district receives an increase in state aid does not mean that the district suddenly has that much more to spend. That is because there is a limit to the amount of revenue a district has to operate under, which is a combination of state aid and property taxes. If a district receives an increase in state aid, that means that property taxes for school purposes will likely decrease slightly.
The Prairie du Chien School District is considering a possible referendum in April of 2016 to increase its revenue limit for additional operating dollars and possible facility upgrades.
