News of the Day April 9, 2026
Wisconsin Voters Approve Majority of School Referendums in 2026 Spring Election

Dozens of school districts saw ballot measures approved by voters during the 2026 Spring Election in Wisconsin.

According to unofficial results posted Tuesday night by county clerks across the state, 46 of 75 referendum questions passed, while 29 failed.

Debt referendums – capital projects involving facilities – passed 9 of 12 questions on ballots Tuesday. The projects ranged from a high school renovation project in rural Cornell, which overwhelmingly passed, in an effort to keep students in grades 9-12 enrolled in the district, to an approved $147 million project to update facilities all across the Howard-Suamico School District.

However, most of the questions asked on Tuesday were for operational referendums, with six districts seeking permanent increases to the tax levy (five of those passed, all in rural districts, with the lone failing vote happening in the relatively large Sauk Prairie School District) and the remaining 57 seeking non-recurring operational referendums.

Those would raise the levy limit for school districts temporarily to pay for staff and services to keep the district operating. 32 of these type of referendums passed in the Spring Election, with potentially big impacts for the districts that were able to pass operational ballot measures.

Recent trends in how voters view school spending, rising property taxes, and political stances on public versus private school education are pushing down success rates of referendums in general and making the success or failure of each ballot measure subject to a handful of votes. Most districts also cited a lack of state funding for education, with the current formulas tied to enrollment, which is declining for the vast majority of districts.

Declining aid and rising costs in services and operations have left most districts – nearly two-thirds of the 421 districts in Wisconsin since 2023 – using referendums to help pay for staff, facilities, and other essential or legally-mandated services. Over 90% of districts in Wisconsin have had at least one referendum since the revenue limit system was put in place three decades ago.