Welcome to our referendum webpage! Thank you for visiting to learn more about this important process. 

Watch our video to learn more about funding for public schools.

Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to providing the best education for every child in our city. To do this, we require sufficient funding to pay teacher and staff salaries, maintain buildings, purchase updated textbooks and materials, and keep pace with new technologies. 

Every school district in the state is facing budget concerns. Funding for education that comes from the State of Wisconsin has not been adjusted for inflation since 2009, resulting in a budget shortfall in MPS and elsewhere. 

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In December 2023, district leaders gathered feedback from families and the community. A district survey that opened in mid-December received more than 4,700 responses, and a majority of replies favored adding a referendum question to the April 2, 2024, spring election ballot to help generate the funding needed to support education in Milwaukee.  

The referendum asked voters for a $252 million four-year phased-in revenue limit increase. The impact on homeowners was estimated at $216 per $100,000 of assessed property value at the end of 2024. In future years, the impact to taxpayers would remain flat.  

Over several months, voters were provided with information about the April 2 election and the district’s operational referendum and were invited to learn more to make an informed decision on the April ballot.  

Feedback and questions were invited at budget25@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.  

On this webpage, voters were offered the latest information about the operational referendum and important voting information.