Fiscal Facts

Wisconsin could join the growing list of states with laws restricting student cell phone use in schools.

New approaches may be needed for the city of Sun Prairie’s fire and emergency medical crews to sustain current service levels for one of the state’s fastest-growing communities.

The reported number of homeless students hit a high mark in Wisconsin’s public schools in the 2023-24 academic year, likely due to both an increase in family homelessness and improved identification of existing need.

Manufacturing and agriculture play an outsized role in Wisconsin’s economy, making exports essential. Yet since the mid-2010s, the value of those exports has fallen both statewide and in the Milwaukee area.

A majority of school district referenda across this year’s February and April elections were approved by Wisconsin voters. 

As emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Lafayette County face challenges maintaining appropriate staffing levels and response times, greater inter-agency collaboration could help stabilize provision of these services.

With too few Milwaukee students receiving an adequate education across all school types, leaders in the city can look to high-performing schools in Milwaukee and around the country for a roadmap for improvement.

The latest Wisconsin Policy Forum research finds that Wisconsin recently has seen its highest levels of net migration in at least two decades, due largely to a nationwide increase in migrants entering the U.S. from abroad.

As Wisconsin’s next state budget debate begins, state finances appear stronger than at most points in the 21st century, buoyed by low unemployment and a balance in its main fund of more than $4 billion. 

State and local governments in Wisconsin have begun to spend funds they have received from the state’s opioid settlements, which have totaled $208 million so far and will total roughly $780 million by 2038.