By the numbers
With nearly 200 of Wisconsin’s 420 school districts either planning referendums asking taxpayers for more money or planning to do so in November, district officials often suggest to friendly news outlets that their budgets haven’t kept up.
But figures from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction show a steady increase in spending by Wisconsin school districts when measured on a per pupil basis.
In fact, even after adjusting for inflation, which surged in 2021, school district spending has kept pace. Spending in the 2022-23 school year averaged, statewide, $16,345 per pupil, about 9% higher after adjusting for inflation than per-pupil spending in the 2000-01 school year.
Inflation has exacted a toll. Per-pupil spending has increased every year since 2012, after two years of decline following school districts’ ability to reduce benefits costs because of labor reforms in Act 10, and has increased 27% in the five most recent years for which the DPI has data. But after adjusting for inflation, per-pupil spending is up only 5% over that period, and in real-dollar terms actually fell in 2021-22 compared to the school year before.
The underlying numbers
| Year | Total students | Education cost per pupil (nominal) | Education cost per pupil ($2022) |
| 1999-2000 | 869,666 | $8,376 | $14,827 |
| 2000-2001 | 870,623 | $8,765 | $15,003 |
| 2001-2002 | 872,338 | $9,215 | $15,498 |
| 2002-2003 | 872,964 | $9,639 | $15,862 |
| 2003-2004 | 871,214 | $9,826 | $15,822 |
| 2004-2005 | 869,005 | $10,180 | $15,913 |
| 2005-2006 | 868,089 | $10,544 | $15,881 |
| 2006-2007 | 867,699 | $10,944 | $16,067 |
| 2007-2008 | 863,013 | $11,395 | $16,131 |
| 2008-2009 | 860,477 | $11,822 | $16,504 |
| 2009-2010 | 858,205 | $12,087 | $16,709 |
| 2010-2011 | 857,273 | $12,462 | $16,892 |
| 2011-2012 | 855,327 | $11,802 | $15,542 |
| 2012-2013 | 856,147 | $11,762 | $15,232 |
| 2013-2014 | 856,792 | $11,970 | $15,264 |
| 2014-2015 | 854,359 | $12,250 | $15,511 |
| 2015-2016 | 854,363 | $12,354 | $15,539 |
| 2016-2017 | 855,307 | $12,591 | $15,547 |
| 2017-2018 | 855,770 | $12,895 | $15,573 |
| 2018-2019 | 855,332 | $13,280 | $15,713 |
| 2019-2020 | 854,497 | $13,619 | $15,863 |
| 2020-2021 | 823,827 | $14,735 | $16,780 |
| 2021-2022 | 832,029 | $15,363 | $16,323 |
| 2022-2023 | 831,037 | $16,345 | $16,345 |
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Wyatt Eichholz is the Policy and Legislative Associate of the Badger Institute.
Any use or reproduction of Badger Institute articles or photographs requires prior written permission. To request permission to post articles on a website or print copies for distribution, contact Badger Institute President Mike Nichols at mike@badgerinstitute.org or 262-389-8239.
