School Financial Services
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School Financial Services
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Accounting, Auditing and Financial Management
- Aid Payments
- Aids Register
- Audit Requirements
- Budget and Adoption
- CESA Annual Report Information
- County Children with Disability Education Board (CCDEB)
- Debt Reporting Information
- Funds
- Property Value
- PSCP, SNSP & ICS Impacts
- School District Fund Balance Policy
- Standard Tuition
- Wisconsin Uniform Financial Accounting Requirements (WUFAR)
- State/Federal Aid and Grant Programs
- Counting Children
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Reporting to SFS
- Referenda Information
- WISEdata Finance and WiSFiP
- School Finance Reporting Portals
- Additional Reporting Instructions
- Chapter 220 Membership Reporting
- School Level Reporting per Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- School Calendar - Days and Hours of Instruction
- PI-1500 District Contacts Report
- CESA Annual Reports
- Revenue Limits
- Calendars and Communication
- Statistical
- Presentations and Tutorials
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School District Support
- Pupil Transportation
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School District Reorganization
- Detachment and Attachment of Territories
- School District Consolidation
- Dissolution of a School District
- Creating a New School District
- Territory Annexed to Certain Municipalities
- School District Boundary Dispute Resolution
- Forms and Templates
- History and Orders
- Glossary of School District Reorganization Terms
- School Operations
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Accounting, Auditing and Financial Management
Wisconsin School Finance System
Overview
Wisconsin has 322 K-12 Common school districts, one First Class school district, 45 Unified school districts, 43 elementary (K-8) districts, and 10 union high school (9-12) districts, for a total of 421 public school districts. One of the state's 43 K-8 districts is a unified school district. All are fiscally independent; that is, they do not depend on other local units of government such as counties or municipalities for their local tax revenue. Each district has taxing authority.
In addition, there are 12 cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs)--which are fiscally dependent on school districts--that provide programs and services to local districts. Five counties operate county children with disabilities education boards (CCDEBs), of which one is fiscally dependent and four are fiscally independent.
Revenue Sources
Wisconsin public school districts derive their revenue through four major sources:
- state aid;
- property tax;
- federal aid; and
- other local non-property tax revenues (such as fees and interest earnings).
Under current law, there is a limit on the annual amount of revenue that each school district can raise through the combination of general school aid (defined as equalization, integration and special adjustment aids), computer aid, and select property taxes.
Informational Papers
Two informational papers--authored by the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau--explain the Wisconsin Finance System in greater detail. Informational Papers #30 (State Aid to School Districts) and #29 (School District Revenue Limits and Referenda) can be found on the Legislative Fiscal Bureau website.