The Benjamin Yount Show-7-31-26

audio version here> WOW! New Wisconsin school spending numbers

If $19,000 per-kid is not enough, what would be?

We got new numbers on school funding yesterday. And we are spending almost $19,000 per-kid. In raw dollars, that’s the most ever. When you factor-in inflation, it is almost the most ever. From WILL:

Despite the continual refrain that public schools are “underfunded,” the data reveals—yet again—spending that is near all-time highs.

On average across the state, school district revenue is $18,746 per student. This represents an increase of about $154 per student from last year without adjusting for inflation.

The high-water mark of spending in the state prior to Act 10 was the 2010-11 school year. In that year, schools had revenue of about $13,186 per pupil, or $19,013 adjusted for inflation. Revenue per student exceeded that threshold from 2020-23 and is within $154 of that level today.

It is true that some schools saw less money, and the total spending is down a bit. But that is mainly because Wisconsin pays for schools with a butts-in-seats method. And there are fewer butts-in-seats.

Wisconsin has been losing students for years. DPI says enrollment in Wisconsin fell by 65,000 kids between 2014 and 2025.

WILL's analysis ends with this:

The latest revenue data should put to rest the notion that Wisconsin’s public schools have been starved of resources. Politicians making the claim that schools are underfunded ought to be asked a simple question: if the record-high spending isn’t enough, what exact number would be?

The real answer is there will never be enough spending for teachers unions and Democrats. But the claim during Tuesday’s debate was that if Wisconsin could only get to two-third funding, everything would be alright.

We’re already there. Wisconsin’s share of school costs has been above 66% since 2021. And even before that. The state was at 65%.

Democrats are right, there used to be a law that required Wisconsin to cover two-thirds of the cost to educate kids. But it was Democrat Jim Doyle who ended that law back in 2003. He wanted to move to a lump-sum model that allowed him to play with the total state school budget.

Scott Walker and Robin Vos, and school choice, had nothing to do with it.

Wisconsin spends $7 billion a year on public schools. Local school districts spend just under that. And the federal government spends a few billion more.

Wisconsin schools don’t have a money problem. They have a spending problem. They have added too many administrators and non-teaching jobs while losing kids. That would be like buying a boat the day after your company announced it is closing down.

Schools know their problems. They understand that with fewer kids in the pipeline, the system as they know it is headed for collapse.

Smart schools, like in Waukesha, are closing buildings and trying to shrink costs. Dumb schools, like Madison, are focusing on DEI and asking taxpayers for more money.

We are spending more than ever on schools. And the education industry’s only answer is that we should spend more. On fewer kids. Two-thirds of which can’t read or write properly.

Here's the link to WILL's piece: ANALYSIS: “Underfunded” Wisconsin Schools Have Near-Record Funding—Again

photo credit: Getty Images