Wisconsin Public Schools

1.2

The growth in the student to teacher ratio in seven years (the Wisconsin Budget Project looked at the 2004-05 and 2011-12 school years). The Wisconsin student-teacher ratio is 15.5 students per teacher. Only three other states – Arizona, California and Nevada – had higher student-teacher ratio growth during the same time period. In 2004-05 Wisconsin ranked 18th in the nation for student-teacher ratio. The 2011-12 numbers places the state at 30th in the nation. Neighboring states of Illinois and Minnesota saw -0.2 changes in student-teacher ratios during the same time period.

15

The percentage of cuts per student in 2014, compared to five years earlier. That amounts to $1,038 less spent on students than in 2008. Only one other state – Alabama – made deeper cuts in public education during that same time frame.

21

Percentage of the 2013 – 15 education budget allocated to the state’s school choice program.

4,300

The number of Full-Time Equivalent teachers the Wisconsin public school system lost in the seven-year period. That’s a 7.1 percent decrease in teachers.

359,000

The number of Wisconsin children – 43 percent – in the public school system in 2013-14 who were eligible for free or reduced school meals. A decade earlier 30 percent of public school students qualified.

$30 million

The expected reduction in state revenue in 2015 due to a new income tax reduction for tuition in private schools. Filers may deduct tuition expenses of up to $4,000 per year per student enrolled in kindergarten through 8th grade, and $10,000 per year for students in grades nine through twelve. Anyone paying private school tuition is eligible to receive this benefit, regardless of income. Wisconsin is one of only six states that offer similar direct tax benefits for families paying private school tuition. The new tax break for private school tuition is generous, especially considering that in tax year 2012, the maximum deduction per student per year for college tuition and fees was $6,543, and eligibility phases out at higher incomes.

Source: Wisconsin Budget Project, wisconsinbudgetproject.org