Would the April 2024 Milwaukee Public Schools referendum raise property taxes 30%?
Milwaukee Public Schools’ property tax levy would increase 30% if voters approve an April 2, 2024, referendum.
It would allow MPS to collect $252 million in additional revenue over four years.
According to MPS:
The 2023-24 levy, $320.2 million, would rise to $417.6 million in 2024-25. That’s an increase of $97 million, or 30.4.%.
That first-year increase would add $216 to the property tax bill of a $100,000 home.
Subsequent levy increases are about $10 million per year through 2027-28.
Viewed another way, the first-year mill rate increase would be 27%, from $7.94 to $10.10 per $1,000 of equalized value.
An analysis by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said "a huge unanswered question is whether the referendum amount is predicated on plans to continue expanding educational offerings to students ... whether it is the estimated amount needed to maintain the status quo; or whether it already accounts for right sizing plans."
