Two area school districts have received sparsity aid, totaling over $130,000 each. Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah received $138,476, while Hilbert received $130,767. The districts were part of $18.5 million that were given to districts with a total membership of 745 or fewer, and a density of less than 10 pupils per square mile. Sparsity aid is computed on prior year audited membership, which includes all students receiving services from a public school district and is different from enrollment. Combined, the 144 eligible school districts had pupil membership of 62,377, which is about 7 percent of Wisconsin’s total public school membership for the 2016-17 school year. Unlike most categorical aids, which are targeted to a specific program or service, sparsity aid may be used for general school operations.
