Wisconsin
Study: Wisconsin voters approved record number of school referendums
Park View Middle School, Mukwonago
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referendums on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of the funding requests, according to a report released Thursday.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum study found that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referendums, eclipsing the old record of 240 set in 1998. The referendums sought a total of $5.9 billion, a new record ask. The old record was $3.3 billion set in 2022.
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Voters approved 169 referendums, breaking the old record of 140 set in 2018. They authorized a record total of $4.4 billion in new funding for school districts, including $3.3 billion in debt. The old record, unadjusted for inflation, was $2.7 billion set in 2020.
A total of 145 districts – more than a third of the state’s 421 public school districts – passed a referendum in 2024. Voters in the Madison Metropolitan School District approved the largest referendums in the state, signing off on a record $507 million debt referendum and a $100 million operating referendum.
The report attributed the rising number of referendums to increases in inflation outpacing increases in the state’s per pupil revenue limits, which restrict how much money districts can raise through property taxes and state aid.
Increasing pressure to raise wages and the loss of federal COVID-19 pandemic relief aid also have played a role, according to the report.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization.
Watch: Billionaire Diane Hendricks delivers address at the RNC
Businesswoman Diane Hendricks, a longtime donor for Republicans, spoke at the Republican National Convention.
America’s richest self-made woman lives in Wisconsin. She’s also, unsurprisingly, the richest person in the state.
So who is Diane Hendricks? Hendricks is the co-founder of Beloit-based ABC Supply Co., which sells roofing and building supplies. In June, she was named the richest self-made woman in the nation for the ninth year in a row by Forbes. She was also ranked the wealthiest Wisconsinite in 2025, with a 2026 net worth of $22.3 billion.
In 2022, Forbes dubbed Hendricks “the most successful female entrepreneur in American history.”
Raised on a dairy farm in Osseo, Wisconsin, the 79 year-old Hendricks had her first child at 17. She left school and worked as a Playboy Bunny before co-founding the ABC empire with her second husband in 1982. When he passed away in 2007, she took over the company.
Since then, Hendricks has more than tripled her net worth, acquired large competitors, and expanded into other sectors. According to Forbes, ABC Supply had 900 locations and $20.2 billion in revenue in 2025. She is also the chair and founder of Hendricks Commercial Properties, a real estate development company, and Hendricks Holding Company, Inc., a private investment firm.
A 2016 Journal Sentinel investigation found that Hendricks had paid zero state income tax for three years. Another investigation found that her 8,500 square foot mansion in the Town of Rock had been taxed as a 1,663 square foot ranch house for years.
Hendricks is also a powerful force in conservative politics in the state and nationally. She has donated millions to the GOP over the years. In 2016, she was a vice chair of the Trump Victory fundraising committee. Months before being named the richest person in Wisconsin, Hendricks spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as an “everyday American.”
Hendricks has also championed economic development efforts in Beloit, cohosting an A&E show with her daughter titled “Betting on Beloit.”
- Showers will be most likely for areas along and south of the I-94 corridor
- Dry and pleasant conditions for Monday and Tuesday
- Showers and thunderstorms will return Tuesday night and into the day Wednesday
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – We are starting the day with some sunshine, but high-level clouds will continue to move in out ahead of a weather system to the southwest. This area of low pressure will move eastward across Illinois and Indiana today, bringing an increase in cloud cover as well as the chance for rain in southern Wisconsin. There is still some uncertainty with exactly how far north the rain will extend, but there is a higher confidence in the presence and coverage of showers along and south of the I-94 corridor this afternoon and evening. Activity will likely be much more hit-or-miss in areas farther north, with some spots potentially not seeing any rain at all.
The cloud cover and rain combined will work to limit temperatures today, with highs only ranging from the upper 60s (in southern Wisconsin) to the low 70s (further north where the sun may linger longer, and it will be drier). We are not expecting a heavy rain, nor are we expecting storms. In areas closer to the state line, rainfall accumulations may be around a half inch. Tonight, rain will end as the system moves east.
What’s Coming Up…
Monday will be dry and pleasant with highs into the mid-70s and some sunshine. This trend continues Tuesday, with highs in the upper 70s. Rain and thunderstorms are then likely to return Tuesday night and Wednesday, with a chance for some stronger storms Wednesday afternoon. Additional showers may linger into Thursday.
Looking Ahead…
Friday looks mostly dry before more chances for showers and thunderstorms return next weekend as temperatures warm up a bit closer to normal for this time of the year.
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MILWAUKEE (WLUK) — Four Northeast Wisconsin garage bands took to the Aurora Pavilion Stage at Summerfest Friday in hopes of winning the 2026 edition of ‘Rockonsin.’
The bands include:
- “Mania” composed of students from East De Pere High School
- “The Danios” composed of students from Mayville High School
- “The Doorknobs” composed of students from Sheboygan North High School and Étude High School
- “Krusher” composed of students from Campbellsport High School
The local bands and six others were the finalists selected from 54 middle and high schools across across Wisconsin for the 2026 contest.
All of them performed 20 minute showcases for an audience, including a trio of music industry panel judges. The bands were judged on technique, rhythm and vocals, primary beats, and synergy among other aspects.
Rockonsin announced “Krusher” won the grand prize Saturday night. Winning the contest nets the band a 12 hour recording session at Blast House Studios in Madison. The runner up band is “Candy Cigarette” from Oconomowoc High School, which wins a shorter 8 hour recording session at Blast House Studios.
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The contest is in its 22nd year.
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