MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers today touted new investments in Wisconsin's kids and schools included in the blockbuster bipartisan deal he negotiated with Republican leaders that was released yesterday after months of negotiations. New data released today by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau show the blockbuster deal negotiated by the governor, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), and Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) will significantly increase funding for local school districts across the state, providing district-by-district breakdowns of funding increases school districts can expect to see if the bipartisan deal passes. Gov. Evers highlighted the statewide impact that increased state support for K-12 schools will have on kids and families across the state, urging the Wisconsin State Legislature to work quickly to pass the bill and send it to his desk.
"We spent months working together to find common ground that will get funding to our kids and our schools, lower property taxes, and get direct support for working families who are facing rising costs on gas and groceries-and, today, we have a bipartisan deal to do all three. So, let's get it done," said Gov. Evers. "I'm urging Republicans and Democrats to work together and get this bipartisan plan across the finish line and do the right thing for the people of our state."
An excerpted list of school district data is available below.
WISCONSINITES CAN SEE A FULL LIST OF HOW MUCH MORE IN STATE TAXPAYER DOLLARS WILL BE COMING BACK TO THEIR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT UNDER GOV. EVERS' DEAL WITH GOP LEADERS BY CLICKING HERE.
The bipartisan package negotiated by Gov. Evers, Speaker Vos, and Majority Leader LeMahieu, invests over $600 million in Wisconsin's K-12 schools, including providing the largest increase to the state's special education reimbursement rate in state history to attain 50 percent as well as investing over $300 million in general school aids; provides tens of millions of dollars in statewide property tax relief through Wisconsin Technical College System aid; makes direct payments to Wisconsin's working families who are struggling to keep up with rising costs; and eliminates state income tax on tipped and overtime income.
The blockbuster deal negotiated and agreed upon by Gov. Evers, Speaker Vos, and Majority Leader LeMahieu:
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Includes the largest increase to the state's special education reimbursement rate in state history to attain 50 percent, investing over $600 million in Wisconsin's K-12 schools, on top of the already historic nearly $1.4 billion provided in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget, including $300 million in property tax relief through general school aids;
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Provides an additional $50 million in property tax relief for Wisconsinites statewide in addition to the above over $300 million in general school aids;
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Eliminates the income tax on cash tips and overtime income for Wisconsin taxpayers; and
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Returns over $850 million of the surplus to Wisconsinites, providing direct support to over 3 million Wisconsinites to respond to rising costs.
The blockbuster deal announced yesterday will still leave billions of dollars in the state's checking and savings coffers for the next biennial state budget and to respond to any pressing state challenges in the interim, using just a portion of the surplus, the balance of which also increased since the 2025-27 state budget was enacted last summer.
Wisconsin closed the last fiscal year with $4.6 billion in the state's general fund, which functions like the state's checking account, and $2 billion in the 'rainy day' fund, which is effectively the state's savings account. Earlier this year, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated that the state would end the biennium with about $2.37 billion, a projection that is more than $1.5 billion above the projected net balance from the enacted 2025-27 biennial budget. In a jointly released memo by the Wisconsin Departments of Administration and Revenue, the departments indicated that revenue collections are even stronger than what was initially anticipated by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in January. For the current fiscal year, the state tax collections through April are tracking approximately $300 million to $350 million above the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's January estimates.
The Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate are expected to take up the proposal on Wed., May 13, 2026. Gov. Evers anticipates signing the proposal as early as next week.
DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR KIDS
Support K-12 Kids and Schools
Gov. Evers and Republican leaders last year negotiated and passed a bipartisan, pro-kid budget that made meaningful investments in Wisconsin's kids at every age, from early childhood to K-12 to the state's higher education institutions. This included over $360 million to help stabilize the state's early education and child care industry, the largest increase for the UW System in nearly two decades, and an historic nearly $1.4 billion increase in spendable revenue for K-12 schools across the state, with a more than half-a-billion-dollar investment in special education.
The blockbuster bipartisan deal between Gov. Evers and GOP leaders announced yesterday provides an additional $300 million for general school aids for K-12 schools beginning in 2026-27, in addition to another over $300 million for special education funding. All told, the package provides over $600 million for Wisconsin K-12 schools on top of the already historic nearly $1.4 billion Gov. Evers and GOP leaders agreed upon and approved through the bipartisan, pro-kid 2025-27 Biennial Budget.
Increase state reimbursement for special education
In the 2025-27 Biennial Budget, Gov. Evers and GOP leaders worked together to secure the largest single increase in special education reimbursement rates in state history-larger than the increase in the previous three state budgets combined-increasing the reimbursement rate to 42 percent in the first year of the biennium and 45 percent in the second. Unfortunately, the funding approved in the state budget was not enough to reach the agreed-upon percentages.
In order to not only provide the necessary funding to reach the percentages agreed upon in the state budget, but also continue building on base-level investments in the state's K-12 kids and schools, a key priority for Gov. Evers, the bipartisan package announced yesterday includes an additional more than $300 million for special education aid. Under the bipartisan proposal, the state will go well beyond the promised special education reimbursement rate approved in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget, reaching 50 percent in 2026-27, ultimately doubling the state's promised special education reimbursement rate since Gov. Evers took office in 2019. The blockbuster bipartisan deal, once approved, will mark the largest increase in special education reimbursement in state history.
With this additional funding, the governor and Republican leaders have worked together to ensure Wisconsin's kids and schools will have the resources they were promised and that they need to succeed. As a result of the increase in special education aid, funding will also increase by $16 million for pupils participating in the choice, charter, special needs scholarship, and open enrollment programs over the biennium.
INFLATION AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
As working families across the state and country continue to face rising costs at the grocery store and gas pump, it was a top priority for both Republican leaders and Gov. Evers to help working families make ends meet while delivering real, meaningful property tax relief to Wisconsinites across the state. The blockbuster bipartisan deal announced yesterday not only provides tens of millions of dollars in statewide property tax relief but also eliminates income taxes on cash tips and overtime and provides direct support to Wisconsinites who need help now.
All told, taken together with all of the proposals passed by the Republican-led Legislature and enacted by Gov. Evers, this new package will increase total tax relief approved by Gov. Evers in the 2025-27 biennium to over $2 billion. On top of this tax relief, the inflation relief payments detailed below will bring total relief in this biennium to nearly $3 billion.
Provide inflation relief for working families
The agreed-upon package negotiated by Gov. Evers and GOP leaders provides over $850 million in direct support to more than 3 million Wisconsinites to help respond to rising costs and help Wisconsin households make ends meet. Each individual who filed an individual income tax return for tax year 2024 and for which at least 90 percent of their income is Wisconsin income will be eligible to receive a $300 refund, while married couples who file jointly will receive $600, or their net tax liability, whichever is less.
Invest in reducing property taxes
The agreement will also provide $350 million in property tax relief, including the aforementioned $300 million in school aids, and an additional $50 million for property tax relief aid for the Wisconsin Technical College System beginning in 2026-27. This aid is counted under each district's revenue limit and, as a result, reduces each district's operational levy by an equal amount, ensuring the district doesn't have to raise its local levy and reducing the tax burden on local property taxpayers.
No income tax on cash tips
As proposed in Gov. Evers' 2025-27 Executive Budget, the agreement eliminates the individual income tax on cash tips. The agreement mirrors federal law in eliminating the individual income tax on tipped income at the state level. This change will provide hardworking families with much-needed permanent tax relief. Unlike the federal enactment, this proposal would not expire in 2028 and will continue in perpetuity.
Overall, the proposal will cut income taxes by nearly $102 million over the next two years while continuing to provide tax relief each year in the future.
Eliminate the income tax on overtime
Finally, the agreement will mirror federal law in excluding overtime income from the state individual income tax beginning in 2026-27. Unlike the federal provision, this proposal, too, will not expire and will continue in perpetuity.
Eliminating state income tax on overtime will save families across the state $328 million over the next two years alone.
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