Wisconsin Budget: More Money for Schools Won't Improve Test Scores
State lawmakers must stop responding to declining enrollment with increased spending.
Wisconsin's budget battle centers on education funding and, predictably, Democrat Governor Tony Evers wants more money to appease the teacher's union. Evers uses the old "think of the poor children" ploy to convince voters that Wisconsin's schools are on the brink of ruin and that only more money can rescue the kids. His team has posted multiple social media messages lampooning anyone who criticized his failed "bipartisan plan."
Wisconsin has heard the same song and dance every budget season since students were clapping dusty chalk erasers outside.
.@TomTiffanyWI isn’t the governor (yet), Tony Evers is.
— Brooks (@EBrooksUncut) May 14, 2026
And the fact that the “Education Governor” couldn’t find *two* Senate Democrats to vote for the largest special ed increase in state history is a reflection of how weak and feckless his leadership is. https://t.co/FPlVr79ytJ
In an intentional effort to confuse everyone, Evers complicates the simple—like in an entire press release that never mentions the full size of the education budget. He talks about the cost of the "bipartisan deal." He cites a "[n]early $1.4 billion increase in spendable revenue for K-12 schools across the state, with a more than half-a-billion-dollar investment in special education." Evers throws out a lot of numbers in a long, complicated press release, but none of his links go to the budget. If they did, the public could inspect it and find that the state actually plans to spend $8.8 billion on K-12 education. The deal Evers promoted imploded in less than a day, with Republicans and some Democrats speaking against it and ultimately, the plan failing in the Senate. The state still projects nearly $9 billion for education.
Wisconsin's education spending is out of control with little to show for it. Test scores are down. As Wisconsin Public Radio's Corrinne Hess recently reported, Wisconsin ranks 33rd in math and 30th in reading recovery.
Student enrollment is down. But spending is up. Way up.
Restoration News combed through past Department of Public Instruction (DPI) budgets and compared a few key numbers that paint a picture of waste and failure in Wisconsin's K-12 schools. The data in this report compare spending from 2005—the earliest available on DPI's website—to today's most recent numbers.
Fewer Kids, More Money
The comparison between enrollment and spending is breathtaking. Common sense may say a drop in enrollment would correspond to less spending, or at least steady funding. But the opposite is true, Wisconsin wants more money for fewer students.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Wisconsin's public schools enrolled 874,098 students. This year, schools statewide enrolled 791,794 students. That is 82,304 (9%) fewer students—the combined total populations of Racine and Oconto. Statewide enrollment has declined every year since 2014. Education administrators should heed the trend and expect even fewer students next year.
Despite fewer students, K-12 education spending has steadily risen 66 percent, from $5.3 billion in 2005 to a projected $8.8 billion for 2026-2027 and a bit more in 2027-2028. That amounts to a $3.5 billion increase over time.
The real world doesn't work like this. Imagine what would happen if nine percent fewer fans attended Packer home games since 2005. Of course that would never happen, but stick with the example—would Lambeau Field buy 66 percent more bratwurst eggrolls to sell? Only if it wanted to go broke. The math does not check out. Taxpayer incomes have not risen as fast as the Wisconsin Legislature's greed for education money.
Anyone who has been to one of Wisconsin's beautiful school buildings knows students are well cared for, and everyone wants that. But it doesn't mean schools need more money each year to maintain a top-of-the-line experience.
More Special Needs Students
The total enrollment numbers include some students who need extra attention. Evers wants to increase spending on special education. The number of special education students who need an Individualized Education Program (IEP) has been nearly steady, raising just four percent since 2005, from 122,385 IEPs then, to 127, 286 now, all while the overall student population declines.
It is worth noting another group of enrolled students with increasing numbers in Wisconsin schools—those who don't speak the English language. So-called "English learners" have increased by 38 percent since 2005 and now make up nearly seven percent of the student population. In 2005, there were 38,941 English learners. Today Wisconsin has 54,400 enrolled English learners. That is enough to nudge culture in a new direction.
With the exception of 2020-2021, when Covid forced classes online, this steady growth in the English-learner population coincides with Joe Biden's time in office, when the U.S. left its borders wide open and many illegal immigrants settled in towns large and small across the nation. The cost of providing special language instruction is one of many forgotten, lingering costs of unmanaged illegal immigration.
The Rebate Juke
For a minute, it seemed Wisconsin property owners would get a tax rebate check as part of the budget deal that fell apart. Wisconsin would fund it through the state's rainy day fund, which has a projected surplus of at least $1.5 billion. The money is burning a hole in Evers' pocket—he badly wants to spend it before he leaves office and potentially hands it over to a Republican governor, most likely current U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.
So now @GovEvers’ staff is admitting he never wanted taxpayers to get ANY of their money back.
— Tom Tiffany (@TomTiffanyWI) May 14, 2026
He “only agreed” to a $300 rebate because he thought it would sway votes.
I will return the FULL surplus to you, not just a fraction. pic.twitter.com/o9nMXqjWYM
Evers disingenuously bragged the plan would provide “up to $600 in direct support payments for working families.” That’s the sort of tricky language shady operators use. “Up to” and “Families.” Nowhere in his lengthy press release did Evers explain the “tax rebate” was only up to $300 per person for certain single state taxpayers or up to $600 for those filing jointly, and taxpayers would get back only what they paid in. What an accounting nightmare for the state and an insult to taxpayers. That surplus is their hard-earned money, the state took too much, the state should give it back in a wiser way.
Even Democrats came out of the woodwork opposing the deal. State Sen. Chris Larson called spending the surplus this way reckless.
No Deal
Turns out no one is getting a lousy tax rebate because the deal died.
But Wisconsin needs a new budget deal. Education does need to be funded. However, it is time to stop blindly throwing so much money at education. When jobs disappear from the papermill, workers get laid off. Fewer students should mean less spending and fewer staff and faculty. Businesses in the private sector live this hard truth every day. As teachers retire to their generous pensions, maybe schools shouldn’t rehire each position.
Look back at years of steadily increasing school funding. It proves that more money won’t raise test scores. A return to traditional teaching will. Schools have strayed from their simple mission to teach academics. The public does not wish to fund institutions that try to indoctrinate students with cultural values that don’t align with their family traditions.
Parents want schools to focus on reading, math, science, music, art, and unadulterated sports. They don't want schools to push political agendas or teach values, sexual preference, and gender issues. Imagine not having to pay a janitor to stay late and lock up after a school drag show. Think of the savings in not going to court and defending smutty library books.
If schools return to the basics, they would likely spend less, and some parents who pulled their children out to educate them without input from the teachers' unions might send them back to public schools.
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