MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on Oct. 15 posted state general school aids that school districts will receive during the current school year.
This release of certified financial figures is based on data from the previous school year, including student counts and year-end financial data. The information published includes certified general school aid amounts for each school district, as well as 2024-25 student enrollment numbers for independent charter schools and private schools participating in the Private School Choice Programs (PSCP) and the Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP). Certain enrollment numbers for these programs are used to determine the dollar amounts to be withheld from school districts’ aid payments to fund the programs as applicable.
General school aids are the largest form of state support for PreK-12 schools in Wisconsin and are based on prior-year data. The PSCP, SNSP, and independent charter school programs are funded based on current year data. The DPI is required by state law to release the certified aid figures by Oct. 15 of each year. General school aid amounts for school districts are calculated using student counts and year-end financial data from the previous school year (2023-24). This certified data replaces preliminary aid estimates released in July.
General school aids
The 2023-2025 state biennial budget increased funding for general school aids for the 2024-25 school year by 4.2 percent ($224.9 million) to a total of $5.58 billion. Statewide, a majority of general aid is equalization aid, which is distributed according to a formula designed to help Wisconsin communities provide public education despite local differences in property wealth. The formula incorporates school district expenditures, property values, and resident student counts (called “membership”). The other, smaller elements of general school aids are integration aid (or “Chapter 220” aid) and special adjustment aid. The latter, also known as “hold harmless” aid, prevents districts from receiving more than a 15 percent reduction in aid from year to year and will go to 69 districts for 2024-25.
Aid varies widely by district based on the equalization formula. Of 421 districts, 276 (66 percent) will receive more aid for 2024-25 than in 2023-24; 137 (33 percent) will receive less. Aid amounts for each school district can be found on the department’s School Financial Services webpage, both alphabetically and by percent change. General school aids are paid in four installments during the school year.
New independent charter schools*, the SNSP, and incoming students** participating in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and Racine Parental Choice Program are funded by withholding aid from districts of participating resident students, resulting in a difference between aid eligibility announced and actual aid payments to be made this year. Additional data and information, including enrollment figures, is available on the DPI’s website.
* New independent charter schools are those chartered by an authorizer who received authority to authorize in or after 2015 Act 55 (Waukesha County Executive, College of Menominee Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, Office of Educational Opportunity, any UW Chancellor (other than UW-Milwaukee and UW-Parkside), and any technical college district board [except MATC]).
** Pupils who began attending a private school under the WPCP or RPCP in the 2015-16 school year or after are referred to as “incoming” pupils.