Fiscal Facts

In seeking approval to exceed state revenue limits in an April 2 referendum, Milwaukee Public Schools and its supporters can cite the district’s many challenges, such as a past lack of growth in revenue limits, workforce hurdles, and rates of students in poverty and with special learning needs.

With last year’s enactment of historic state legislation, most Wisconsin municipalities are receiving their first substantial increase in a generation in their main source of state aid, shared revenue.

Milwaukee County’s private-sector health care stakeholders increasingly are investing in strategies to help find and stabilize housing for the individuals they serve, and early assessments suggest these efforts are making a positive difference.

While the massive unmet capital and maintenance needs facing the Milwaukee County Parks will require a variety of far-reaching solutions, one strategy that county leaders could immediately pursue is partnering with municipalities and other local governments.

Wisconsin has seen a 17.7% drop in licensed school bus drivers over the past 15 years, creating challenges for school districts and the families they serve.

Amid a national debate about the value of higher education, a college degree would be required for a nearly two-thirds of higher-paying job openings that state officials project to exist in Wisconsin through 2030.

Wisconsin’s technical colleges receive high per-student funding levels compared to other public two-year colleges nationally, previous Wisconsin Policy Forum research found.

Under state law, Wisconsin farmland is supposed to be assessed for taxation based on the value of what it can produce.

After falling in 2022 to its lowest level in more than a half century, the share of Wisconsinites’ incomes that they paid in state and local taxes effectively held steady last year.

Forum researchers churned out 54 reports and interactive data tools in 2023 that covered a wide variety of timely issues.