Wisconsin

School debt repayment should be a priority, not deferred | Opinion

Published

4 months ago

February 21, 2026

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School debt repayment should be a priority, not deferred | Opinion

Debt is not inherently irresponsible. Schools need safe, functional facilities. But when debt becomes permanent, it stops being a tool and starts being a constraint.

Will Flanders
| Special to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Each year, Wisconsin property taxpayers contribute more than $6.5 billion in local school levies. Those dollars are commonly understood to support classrooms, teachers and student services. In reality, a large — and growing — portion is diverted to debt service, a non-negotiable financial obligation before a single classroom dollar is spent.

In fact, the debt-service share of the local levy continues to grow, not because students are receiving more, but because past borrowing decisions increasingly dictate today’s budgets. Fortunately, at least one school district is showing that a debt free future is possible.

Statewide, nearly 18% of all local school levies — about $1.18 billion each year — are used to service debt. In practical terms, almost one out of every five local school tax dollars is unavailable for instruction or student support because it has already been committed elsewhere. Unfortunately, long-term debt has become a routine feature of school finance rather than an exception.

Looking at debt on a per-student basis makes the impact clearer. Across Wisconsin, districts levy an average of $1,483 per student each year simply to service existing debt. In districts that carry any debt at all — roughly 85% of districts statewide —that figure rises to $1,550 per student, before any money is spent in a classroom.

At the same time, Wisconsin is experiencing sustained enrollment decline, and while per-pupil revenue limits may decline with enrollment, existing district debt does not shrink when enrollment falls. The obligation stays fixed, and the burden shifts. Even if no new debt is added, fewer students are left to carry the same costs.

Over a ten-year period, a 1.5% statewide enrollment decline — far slower than the actual current rate of decline — would result in a 16% increase in per-student burden without a single new referendum, project, or improvement.

Debt-free school districts are rare

Against that backdrop, debt-free districts have become rare — especially among larger systems. Among the 100 largest school districts in Wisconsin, only four operate without any debt service levies. When the Waukesha School District retires its final obligations on April 1, 2026, it will be the largest debt-free school district in the state — by a lot.

Serving 10,600 students, Waukesha will be more than 6,000 students larger than the next-largest debt-free district. The next few —Tomah (67th), followed by Merrill Area (92nd) and Arrowhead (98th) — sit near the bottom of the top-100 by enrollment or just beyond it. No other district operating at Waukesha’s scale is debt-free.

That matters. It shows that operating without long-term debt is not a function of being small or rural. It is a function of choices: how projects are scoped, how debt is structured and whether repayment is treated as a priority rather than deferred indefinitely.

Homeowners shocked by schools’ part of tax bills

While many homeowners have been shocked to see the school portions of their property tax bills increase exponentially in recent years, Waukesha’s has declined, on average, with fluctuations that reflect the year-to-year complexity of the funding formula.

The school tax levy increased by 2.25% this past year because of shifts in state aid allocation beyond the district’s control, including millions more going to Milwaukee for passing it’s own massive referendum. While the board could have taken steps to keep the levy flat, instead, they followed through to retire debt and recognized a 26% savings on total borrowing costs ($1.5M less than the anticipated $6 million 10-year repayment).

Meanwhile, referenda themselves have become routine. Last year, dozens of operating and capital referenda passed across Wisconsin. This spring’s ballot again includes districts seeking additional authority — often not for discrete, time-limited projects, but to cover ongoing maintenance, capital costs, or basic operations. Increasingly, districts are asking voters for more money simply to operate. Over the past three election cycles (spring 2024-spring 2025), Wisconsin districts have placed $3.8 billion in operating and capital borrowing referendum requests on local ballots.

There are consequences to this approach. When districts rely on recurring referenda and long-term debt to sustain basic functions, strategic consolidation and shared-service models become far more difficult. Few communities are willing to absorb another district’s long-term debt, particularly when those obligations were incurred under different assumptions and governance.

Debt is not inherently irresponsible. Schools need safe, functional facilities. But when debt becomes permanent, it stops being a tool and starts being a constraint. And when nearly one-fifth of all local school taxes are treated as a non-negotiable obligation before student and classroom needs are even considered, flexibility disappears.

Fiscal discipline is not measured by how easily costs are added. It is measured by whether leaders are willing — and able — to start paying them off.

Will Flanders is the Research Director for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for June 13, 2026

Published

6 hours ago

June 14, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for June 13, 2026

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at June 13, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 13 drawing

03-13-44-50-53, Powerball: 02, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 13 drawing

Midday: 0-0-0

Evening: 7-4-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 13 drawing

Midday: 6-0-8-7

Evening: 6-4-6-7

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from June 13 drawing

Midday: 01-03-04-08-10-11-12-15-16-17-20

Evening: 01-04-05-08-10-11-12-14-16-20-22

Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from June 13 drawing

04-21-22-26-27

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from June 13 drawing

05-07-23-26-32-39, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Megabucks numbers from June 13 drawing

04-23-28-32-43-48

Check Megabucks payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **

WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin basketball adds 7-foot-1 center Jack Thelen to 2027 recruiting class

Published

17 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin basketball adds 7-foot-1 center Jack Thelen to 2027 recruiting class

Minneapolis-area center Jack Thelen committed to the Badgers on June 13.
Thelen, a 7-foot-1 center, received his first high-major scholarship offer from Wisconsin on June 10.
Wisconsin’s 2027 class also includes in-state standout Jalen Brown.

Wisconsin men’s basketball has quickly gone from zero commitments to two in its 2027 recruiting class.

Eight days after in-state star Jalen Brown’s commitment, Minneapolis-area center Jack Thelen committed to the Badgers as well, he announced via Instagram on June 13.

Thelen’s choice of the Badgers followed UW’s scholarship offer on June 10. It was his first reported offer from a high-major program. His other offers included Miami (Ohio), Murray State and Montana.

The 7-foot-1, 235-pound center is from Maple Grove, Minnesota, which also is where UW alum Brad Davison went to high school. Thelen is high school and AAU teammates with fellow 2027 recruiting target Baboucarr Ann. Thelen does not have a rating yet from 247 Sports or Rivals.

UW now has two commitments in its 2027 class, which is ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 12th nationally by 247 Sports. Rivals has similarly ranked the class fifth in the Big Ten and 18th nationally.

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