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A lapse in state funding for the Sheboygan Area School District will be hurting taxpayers’ wallets.
For the 2025-2026 school year, SASD received $2.6 million less in state general aid funding, underscoring a larger statewide trend in Wisconsin that has seen a swift drop in educational spending.
As a result of this drop in funding for the school year, the district has said it will have to cover a larger share of operating costs, leading to higher 2025 tax bills for residents in the district.
SASD has said that many factors have played a part in its current financial situation, however, it highlighted that there was no approved increase in state aid to public schools in the current biennial budget, while adding that, “Since 2009, the money our district gets for each student has not kept up with inflation.”
The district believes this is part of a larger problem across Wisconsin, which, as reported by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, has dropped from 11th in the U.S. to 26th in pupil spending over the past 12 years, currently sitting at 10% less than the national average.
This rapid decline in educational spending has also been the fastest such decrease of any state in the country.
To close, the district said, “We do not take the responsibility of being efficient stewards of taxpayer dollars lightly, and we appreciate the support and understanding of our local taxpayers as we navigate a state biennial budget that was unfriendly to public schools and local taxpayers.”
