Governor Highlights Property Tax Report

From the governor's office

Governor Jim Doyle Tuesday (November 29, 2005) visited Whitnall High School, where he highlighted a report by the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance (SWSA) that details school tax rates for 34 southeastern Wisconsin school districts. The report calculates that Doyle's property tax freeze resulted in a $2.2 million cut in the school levy for those 34 districts.

"The Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance study has confirmed something that we've known for some time - that if the state lived up to its commitment to funding two-thirds of every student's education and schools held the line on spending, we could get to a responsible, effective property tax freeze and take some of the burden off of property taxpayers," Doyle said. "And that's exactly what we've done. We are able to continue giving Wisconsin's kids the education they both need and deserve without property taxpayers having to shoulder more of the burden."

Statewide, overall school district property tax levies are decreasing by 0.51%, or approximately $18 million, compared to last year. This represents the first statewide reduction in school district tax levies in nearly a decade. The last decrease was during the 1996-97 school year, when the state went to two-thirds funding.

The 2005-07 state budget signed by the governor returned Wisconsin to its commitment to fund two-thirds of every student's education and froze property taxes statewide.

"This is a significant accomplishment, and I'd like to applaud Wisconsin's schools for being such great partners with the state," Doyle said. "They had to make some tough choices and work hard to control spending in the face of escalating costs of everything from textbooks to gas for their busses. But schools were able to hold the line on spending, and together, we were able to continue giving Wisconsin's kids the education they need and deserve, without property taxpayers having to shoulder more of the burden."

The SWSA Tax/Aid Survey
A complete list of statewide school district levies for 2006
The OnWEAC resource page on the 2005-07 state budget

Posted November 30, 2005