Record number of school referenda in 2024

Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referenda on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of the funding requests, according to a report released Thursday. The Wisconsin Policy Forum study found that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referenda, eclipsing the old record of 240 set in 1998. The referenda sought a total of $5.9 billion, a new record ask. The old records was $3.3 billion set in 2022. Voters approved 169 referenda, breaking the old record of 140 set in 2018. A total of 145 districts — more than a third of the state’s 421 public school districts — passed a referendum in 2024.