Area schools to see increase in state aid

All five schools in the Times-area will see an increase in the amount of aid it receives in the 2020-21 school year with the amounts being released by the Department of Public Instruction last week.

The Independence district will see the largest increase as the amount of aid received will jump from $2,712,440 to $3,435,472, a 26.66 percent increase. Blair-Taylor will see an increase of $440,403, or 14.3 percent, to $3,519,789 while Arcadia will have a 4.71 percent increase to $11,221,039, Whitehall’s increase will be 5.44 percent to $5,942,149 and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau will receive $9,633,506, a 2.76 percent increase from last year.

General school aids are the largest form of state support for PK-12 schools in Wisconsin, and are based on prior year data. The private school choice and independent charter school programs are funded based on current year data. Enrollment numbers are used to determine the dollar amounts to be deducted or withheld from school districts’ aid payments to fund state parental choice programs.

The department is required by state law to release the certified aid figures by Oct. 15 of each year. The general school aid amounts for school districts are calculated using student counts and year-end financial data from the previous school year (2019-20). This finalized data replaces preliminary aid estimates released in July.

Independent charter and private school choice enrollment counts come from schools’ reporting the number of students enrolled on the third Friday of September 2020.

The 2019-2021 state biennial budget increased funding for general school aids for the 2020-21 school year by 3.5 percent ($163.5 million) to a total of $4.90 billion. Statewide, the majority of general school aids is equalization aid. Equalization aid is distributed according to a formula designed to help Wisconsin communities provide public education despite local differences in property wealth. The formula considers school district expenditures, property values, and resident student counts (called “membership”).

Aid varies widely by district based on the equalization formula. Of 421 districts, 297 will receive more aid than last year (71 percent); 119 will receive less (28 percent). Aid amounts for each school district can be found on the department’s School Financial Services website, both alphabetically and by percent change. General school aids are paid in five installments during the school year and following summer.

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