Some larger Door and Kewaunee county school districts will see large increases in general school aid while smaller districts will receive slightly less. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction estimates about $4.74 billion for 2019-2020 general school aid. That's an increase of just over $83 million dollars from last year. The Luxemburg-Casco School District and the Kewaunee School District will each see just over $299-thousand dollars more this school year. Sturgeon Bay will receive just over $78-thousand dollars less, Sevastopol's state aid will drop nearly $12-thousand and Gibraltar will receive just over $451 less than last year. Daniel Bush, DPI's Director of School Financial Services, says smaller districts can lose aid through a combination of property values and fewer students.
Bush says that's why some school districts hold the line on spending toward the end of the school year.
Declines in student populations from the third week in September through the end of the school year can push some districts over the state revenue caps and reduce state aid. Bush says that happened to the Washington Island School District several years ago. It lost what little state it was getting. The district will receive no state aid for 2019-2020.
