Parents, Educators Sue Wisconsin Lawmakers Over School Funding
Suit argues inadequate funding denies children constitutional right to basic education.
Missy Sperle is a fifth grade math teacher at Winskill Elementary School in Lancaster in southwest Wisconsin. Photo courtesy Missy Sperle
A group of parents and educators from across Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Monday against the state Legislature, alleging lawmakers have failed to adequately fund public schools.
The 19 plaintiffs, led by the Wisconsin PTA, are asking the Circuit Court of Eau Claire County to hold the Legislature accountable for “not meeting its constitutionally mandated obligation to provide all children with an equal opportunity for a sound basic education.”
The 105-page complaint alleges the decline in student reading and math scores are tied to the decrease in state funding to public schools over the last decade.
The complaint also alleges lawmakers are breaking the law by using taxpayer dollars to pay for private voucher schools while not meeting their constitutional obligation to fund public schools.
“This is a constitutional challenge to the deficiency of the state public finance system for our schools,” said Jeff Mandell, president of Law Forward, the firm representing the plaintiffs. “Despite heroic efforts that have held our schools together for as long as they’ve made it under this deficient funding, it’s not enough. These folks are not magicians.”
Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Joint Finance Committee Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born, did not respond to WPR’s requests for comment.
The lawsuit comes after the state Assembly adjourned last week without agreeing to a deal to use some of the state’s $2.5 billion surplus to provide some relief to property taxpayers and schools.
Vos said last week the Assembly could convene a special session to address this.
Wisconsin’s K–12 public schools have gone without cost-of-living adjustments since 2009. At the same time, a promised increase in funding for students with disabilities was less than expected this school year.
Mandell said any deal Gov. Tony Evers and Legislature might reach could help schools, but would not solve the larger finance problem that has developed over decades.
Plaintiffs in the case include the Adams-Friendship Area School District, the School District of Beloit, Eau Claire Area School District, Green Bay Area Public School District, and Necedah Area School District, those districts’ unions, the Wisconsin Public Education Network and eight individual parents, students and teachers.
Between the 1999-2000 and 2022-2023 school years, reading proficiency for fourth-grade students decreased from 78 percent to 44.8 percent.
During that same time period, math proficiency rates for eighth-grade students fell from 42 percent to 30.5 percent.
Leah Hover-Preiss, a math interventionist in the Adams-Friendship Area School District, said her colleagues want to focus on helping students succeed, but that has become nearly impossible.
“As a teacher, I see every day how funding decisions show up in our schools: increased class sizes, reduced classroom support for teachers, fewer opportunities for students in art, music, and sports, a lack of student mental health services,” Hover-Preiss said.
In the 1999–2000 school year, public schools were funded mostly by the state, 53.7 percent. Local tax dollars funded 41.6 percent and 4.7 percent came from the federal government, according to the complaint.
By 2023–24, the most recent year of available data, that mix had shifted to 45 percent state, 43 percent local, and 12 percent federal.
“The state share notably declined, beginning in earnest after the 2008 recession, and has never fully recovered,” according to the complaint.
“Meanwhile, the local revenue share has increased, and the federal contribution has nearly tripled, driven largely by temporary pandemic relief funding,” the complaint continues. “With federal funds expiring and a severely diminished state effort to fund public education, school districts across Wisconsin are facing financial crisis.”
Shane McDonough is a teacher in the Green Bay Area Public School District and the parent of a child with special needs.
He said budget cuts expected in the Green Bay district will be deeply felt.
“Students who need consistency and specialized attention would be impacted first,” McDonough said. “Larger caseloads and fewer supports means less individualized attention, fewer opportunities for inclusion and increased stress for students and families and staff. These cuts don’t just affect academics. They affect a child’s sense of belonging and long-term independence and success.”
Parents, educators file lawsuit against Wisconsin lawmakers over school funding was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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