Does the '400-year veto' by Gov. Tony Evers require more state funding for Wisconsin public schools?

An adjustment Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made to the 2023-25 state budget using his partial-veto power allows school districts to raise more revenue, but does not require the state government to allocate the funds.

Republicans sent Evers a budget that raised the maximum per-pupil revenue limit to $325 per year through the 2024-25 school year. Evers removed the zero and the dash to change that to the year 2425. Wisconsin gives its governor the power to cut text from legislation.

The districts can levy larger property tax increases or request state aid to raise funds, but the partial veto does not mandate additional state funding.

Evers said the budget will raise the share of state funding for K-12 education from 67.8% in fiscal 2022-23 to an estimated 69.4% in 2024-25.

In 2022-23, the per-pupil revenue limit ranged across school districts from $10,006 to $26,356, or $11,888 on average.