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Longitudinal Data - Revenue Limit

Multi-Year Revenue Limit Data

Want to understand how the Revenue Limit has affected your district over time? Ever have the need to explain it to someone new to Wisconsin public school finance?

These Excel spreadsheets display individual lines and values from the Revenue Limit computation for each public school district for the past several years. Changes in the three-year averages, per-pupil increases, exemptions and other factors can explain shifts in district Revenue Limit resources from year to year.

Use these spreadsheets to review key factors in your district's Revenue Limit computation. Also provided are Excel graphs of select data elements.

History of Revenue Limit Per-Pupil Adjustment Amounts

Longitudinal Revenue Limit Per Member

Districts may find it informative to analyze their Maximum Revenue Limit Per Member across time. The Revenue Limit Per Member is computed by dividing a district's Maximum Revenue Limit (Line 11 of the computation) by its Current Three-Year Membership FTE average (line 6 of the computation) for the year of interest.

Maximum Revenue Limit

In any given year, the Maximum Revenue Limit for a district indicates the maximum amount a district can receive through the combination of general state aid (Equalization, Special Adjustment and Integration Aids), the levies for Funds 10 (Operating), 38 (Non-Referendum Debt) and 41 (Capital Projects) and Computer Aid. Changes in Line 11 across time can indicate changes in the level of district resources available for educational programs. Users of this data are encouraged to investigate the reasons behind changes in this statistic.

Different Types of Authority

The Maximum Revenue Limit amount is comprised of different types of authority. First, a district receives levying authority from its pupil membership and a yearly inflationary increase. Further, depending on what is happening in the district, additional authority can come from (among others) recurring referenda, transfer of service, non-recurring referenda and declining enrollment. All of the levying authority entitled to the district is summed and displayed on Line 11 of a district’s revenue limit worksheet in any given year. District BOEs use their discretion in setting their levies and how much of line 11 will be utilized.

Revenue Limit Per Member Longitudinal Survey

The Revenue Limit Per Member Longitudinal Survey file contains a district by district display of the Current Three-Year Average Membership (Line 6), Maximum Revenue Limit (Line 11) and the Revenue Limit Per Member for each year since the inception of Revenue Limits in 1993-94. Data was taken from Revenue Limit files at DPI.