BLANCHARDVILLE — Roughly 55 percent of the state’s public school districts will receive more general aid than last school year, and among them will be six area districts.

According to a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, $72.75 million, or 1.6 percent, of general state aid was increased from the previous year, giving more than half of the 422 public districts in Wisconsin an amount higher than received last year.

Pecatonica Area School District is set to receive the largest increase among schools within the area. General aid for the district will exceed $2.9 million, up more than $170,000 from the previous school year. The School District of Monroe has been granted an increase of over $127,000 with total anticipated aid of more than $16.3 million, and Brodhead School District will see an increase of roughly $110,000 with 2018-19 general aid set at more than $6.8 million.

Costs per student, like operating costs and debts for a school, are a main factor in the formula which designates the funding for each district. Last year’s state average of shared cost per pupil was nearly $11,000.

General aid is based on membership, property value and eligible expenditures from the previous school year. Membership is different than enrollment and is based on a full-time equivalent students within the district, whether or not they attend the school. If they are instead attending a private school, the aid of the district is reduced to cover payments to that school as part of the state’s school choice program. There are also reductions if a student chooses to attend a charter school.

Another neighboring district to see an increase in general aid, according to the state DPI, is the School District of Albany, which will receive the smallest bump at over $2.3 million in aid, or slightly more than $10,000 in additional aid over last year. Juda School District will receive over $1.6 million in aid, an increase of over $26,000 from the 2017-18 school year. Darlington Community School District will receive over $5.8 million in general aid, up $84,000 from last year.

However, four districts within the region will see their general state aid go down. 

Argyle School District will receive over $1.9 million, a decrease of over $11,000 from last year. Monticello School District is set to receive just over $2 million, which is a 9 percent decrease from the previous school year. In 2017-18, the district general aid was over $2.2 million, over $201,000 more than general aid last year.

New Glarus School District will see a deduction of over $11,000 with a general state aid amount of more than $5.6 million. Evansville Community School District will receive general aid of more than $13.4 million, which is a decrease of more than $68,000 for the district. 

According to the DPI release, general aid totals do not include aid amounts based on per pupil categories. Those are instead based on a three-year average of the membership of a district on the third Friday in September each year. Statewide, that aid is $654 per student and an estimated $549 million to be paid in March.