Majority of Wisconsin school referendums pass in 2026 Spring Election

Wisconsin sees 61% success rate out of 75 school district referendums in the 2026 Spring Election.

Across Wisconsin, numerous school districts had referendums on the ballot in the April 7 election. Out of 75 total referendums, 46 passed for a success rate of 61%. 

According to a report by Civic Media, of the referendums that passed, 11 were decided by 83 or less votes—in particular, Shell Lake and Butternut school districts were approved by two votes and one, respectively. On the other hand, four of the 29 failed referendums lost by less than 24 votes.

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Twelve of the 75 were debt referendums, nine of which passed on Tuesday. Another six were recurring referendums, which permanently increases a school district’s revenue limit and funds operations. Of those six, only Sauk Prairie School District failed, by 44 votes.

The majority of these referendums were non-recurring, which temporarily increases the district’s revenue limit for a specific number of years. 

Appleton Area School District had the highest approval margin, with 8,095 votes. This referendum allows the district budget to exceed the revenue limit by $15 million per year for four years.

“It’ll impact areas like interventionists for students, it will impact paraprofessionals, certainly administrators, technology, co-curriculars, all of those areas outside the actual classroom will be reduced,” Greg Hartjes, superintendent of the Appleton School District, told WBAY.

East Troy Community School District had the highest failure margin, with 1,046 votes. The referendum asked for approval to exceed the revenue limit by $4 million per year for three years.

The largest came from Howard-Suamico School District. The $147 million referendum, used for facility improvements, passed with a 53.38% approval.

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly responded to the results, sharing her frustration at the growing number in school district referendums state-wide.

“Public schools have been the bedrock of Wisconsin since its founding, when state leaders enshrined in our constitution the responsibility to provide every child with a quality education,” Underly said in a press release. “The growing number of school referendums, however, is a clear signal that the state is falling short of that promise.”

According to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report, the state saw a record number of 241 school referendums in 2024, 103 of which were on the 2024 February primary and April ballots. The 2024 spring election had a 60.2% passage rate, compared to this year’s 61%.

“Wisconsin must renew its commitment to investing in our children,” Underly said. “That means adequately funding public schools so every district can deliver the high-quality education students deserve, without being forced to rely on repeated referendums to survive.”