Declining Enrollment and State Funding Shortfalls are Squeezing Schools across Wisconsin

A familiar challenge is taking shape in communities across Wisconsin. School districts are educating fewer students but still paying the full cost of running schools. The consequences? Tighter budgets, heavier reliance on local taxpayers, and growing uncertainty about maintaining quality education. Chad Trowbridge, Director of Business Services and Finance for the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, joins Pat Kreitlow, host of Mornings with Pat Kreitlow, to discuss how declining enrollment and state funding shortfalls are no longer a distant concern. It’s now an everyday reality.

“Declining enrollment is a problem statewide, not just here,” Trowbridge explains. “Chippewa Falls was an outlier for many years. We were growing while other districts were shrinking. But now, like everyone else, we’re feeling the shift.”

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Listen to the complete discussion here:

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Why Are Student Numbers Falling?

The reasons are layered. The state’s birth rate is down meaning fewer children are being born. But that’s not the whole story. Families are also being pushed out by unaffordable housing, limited daycare availability, and jobs that don’t always support new residents.

“In Chippewa Falls, we have a strong job market, but many of those are commuter jobs,” Trowbridge says. “People work here, but they don’t always live here.”

The COVID-19 pandemic complicated the picture, too. More families explored homeschooling, virtual academies, or opted to leave public schools entirely. Some with the help of taxpayer-funded vouchers that allow students to attend private, often religious, schools. And while giving families more choice, these departures also drain enrollment numbers in public districts without reducing operating costs.

“You still have to heat the building, drive the bus, turn on the lights,” Trowbridge says. “Even if you’re serving fewer kids, your core costs remain.”

How the State Funding Formula Falls Short

Wisconsin’s school funding system hasn’t kept up with these changes. The state relies on a combination of property taxes and state aid determined by a formula rooted in 1990s policy. And it fails to reflect today’s educational and economic realities.

Trowbridge goes on to explain, the formula depends on three major inputs: enrollment, property value, and expenses. When student numbers drop but property values remain high, the district receives less state aid — even if the community’s overall ability to pay hasn’t changed.

“In northern districts with high property values and low student numbers, the formula doesn’t work in their favor at all,” he says.

Making matters worse, the revenue limits – caps on how much money districts can raise through property taxes and state aid combined – are not keeping pace with inflation. District officials were told to use temporary federal relief dollars to fill budget holes during the pandemic. But those funds have run dry, and no long-term replacement is being offered.

“In the last state budget, the increase we got was $325 per student. That’s less than half of what we lost when federal dollars ran out,” Trowbridge explains. “It helps, but it’s not enough.”

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Watch the entire discussion starting at 1:36:00 here:

The Local Impact: Rising Referendums

Chippewa Falls, for example, has had to turn to the voters. In 2024, the district passed a three-year operational referendum to cover a $2.5 million annual shortfall. That money fills the gap for now, but it’s not a solution.

“We wanted to get through the current biennium to see if the state would backfill the lost revenue,” he says. “If they don’t, our district and many others will be back with another referendum.”

Trowbridge does emphasize that while voters have often been generous in supporting their local schools, relying on referendums to fund basic operations is not sustainable. It also creates inequity, as some communities have a stronger tax base or more referendum-friendly voters than others.

“The state didn’t add money to the general aid formula, so districts have no choice but to raise property taxes locally,” he explains. “It creates a burden at the local level that the state used to help carry.”

Looking Ahead

Student populations are aging, housing costs rising, and education policy is in flux, and Trowbridge says school leaders are doing their best to adapt. But the numbers are hard to ignore. And so are the long-term consequences.

“There’s no one cause and no one fix,” he shares. “But if we don’t address the funding formula and provide stable, inflation-indexed support for schools, we’re going to keep seeing the same cycle: enrollment drops, budgets shrink, referendums rise, and communities bear more of the cost.”

And as districts like Chippewa Falls continue to navigate these challenges, one thing may be clear. If there are no structural changes at the state level, Wisconsin’s schools will remain stuck on a financial roller coaster with no easy way off.