Local · Wisconsin
Wisconsin Voters Face 79 School Referendums Seeking $1.6 Billion on Nov. 3
Seventy-two districts are asking for money, led by Green Bay, Middleton-Cross Plains and Janesville, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
Voters in 72 Wisconsin school districts will decide 79 referendums on Nov. 3 totaling $1.6 billion in operating and capital requests, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. That is more than a third of the state’s districts. In April, 75 referendums were on the ballot, and 16 districts that lost then are trying again.
The largest operating requests are Green Bay at $158 million, Middleton-Cross Plains at $119 million and Janesville at $98 million, WPR reported. Green Bay’s is a four-year, non-recurring request that the district says would not raise the mill rate, FOX 11 reported; its superintendent, Mike Hernandez, said that if voters say no, the district will have to make cuts.
The 2025-27 state budget kept general school aid flat at $5.58 billion for a third year, WPR reported. Will Flanders of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty said in many instances there will have to be “more severe belt tightening than we usually consider.”
In April, more than 60 percent of referendums passed, WPR reported.
Sources
- Wisconsin Public Radio, Oct. 30, 2026: statewide totals, largest requests, state aid, April results, Flanders <https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-school-districts-referendums-nov-3-election>
- FOX 11 Green Bay, Sept. 22, 2026: Green Bay’s $158 million request, mill rate, superintendent’s comments <https://fox11online.com/news/crisis-in-the-classroom/voters-learn-more-about-green-bay-schools-referendum-thatll-appear-on-november-ballot>
This article was drafted with automated tools from the sources listed, checked by a review pass, and published by Daniel Varrone. Corrections: editor@monochromechronicles.com