While WI State law caps the amount of money the Shorewood school district is allowed to raise (which can only be exceeded with the passage of a referendum), the State also fails to fully reimburse the Shorewood Districts for costs mandated by federal and state law. The largest of these costs is to provide for special education for students with disabilities.
While the law requires Shorewood schools to provide for these essential services, the State only covers less than 30% of this mandated expense. Hence, the Shorewood school district has no choice but to divert $3M per year from its general education fund to cover special education costs, or aprox 11% of its educational budget.
If the Wisconsin Legislature followed Wyoming’s example and fully reimbursed special education costs, Shorewood would have an additional $1,700 per student each year to invest in general education.
