Appleton, Hortonville, Kimberly, and Menasha district superintendents were among the roundtable discussing concerns over funding for special education programs from the state legislature. June 24, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — With the recent deficits weighing on school districts in the Fox Valley, area superintendents are less than pleased with Wisconsin’s GOP-led Joint Finance Committee.
The committee, which writes the biennial state budget, voted June 12 to freeze funding increases for two years and not increase special education reimbursement rates.
“We need to have revenue that matches inflation,” said Appleton Area School District Superintendent Greg Hartjes. “So for the last four years, the revenue that we received and is controlled by the state has not matched inflation. That always puts us in the situation where we have to figure out, where are we going to cut our expenses?”
Hartjes said the district was forced to close Columbus Elementary due to budget cuts. In the face of yet another deficit, the district is now facing more tough decisions.
“We do have a $10-12 million deficit in our budget, and so this year, we’re taking that out of, we call it the “fund balance.” In layman’s terms, it’s savings, right? So we have savings that we can take that money out of. Well, that savings will be gone after next year, and so we really have to balance our budget,” Hartjes explained.
Superintendent Matt Zimmerman with the Menasha Joint School District echoed that sentiment. He said every district in the state will have to make sacrifices if they don’t get the necessary funding from state lawmakers.
We’re going to have to make reductions in staffing to reduce our budget, or we’re going to have to go to our local taxpayers in the form of an operational referendum and ask them for additional revenue. So, for no additional money to come from the state, without getting that from taxpayers — that’s really a disappointment for us.
Last week Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos weighed in on the status of education funding in the next budget.
Vos said special education funding is important and the Joint Finance Committee is working on a way to provide it without overspending.
“We are going to make an investment into special ed. But at the same time, we can only afford to do so much in the world that we are, where we want tax relief to be our top priority. So, we’re going to find a way to get more money for kids with special needs. We’re going to find a way to get more money in child care. We’re going to make sure we have a budget that balances, and hopefully, get it done on time,” Vos said.
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