Wisconsin Public Television

Series: Challenges To Wisconsin's Rural Schools

Years of budget cuts, increased state funding for private schools, Act 10, an increase in teacher retirements and a decrease in young educators entering the workforce have reshaped the face of public education in Wisconsin over the past decade. But these changes are amplified in rural school districts around the state. Many of Wisconsin's rural counties are slowly losing population, which results in shrinking school enrollment numbers and local tax bases, putting pressure on districts budgets. With a growing teacher shortage nationwide, schools in sparsely populated areas struggle to attract new staff. At the same time, districts across the state are increasingly turning to referendums to fill the funding gap.
 
A budget proposal would provide more money to rural school districts depending on the population density of their students. But districts like Adams-Friendship, in rural areas but with more than 1,000 students, might not see as much funds as others.
With an ongoing teacher shortage in Wisconsin, Unified School District of Antigo Superintendent Julie Sprague discusses the challenges faced in that district.
The funding system for English Language Learner education in Wisconsin schools with are facing challenges in places with high proportions of students needing these services, from urban districts like Green Bay to those in rural communities like Abbotsford.
Declining enrollments and complicated funding streams are making it harder and harder for rural schools to keep the lights on. Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance director Kim Kaukl discusses this seemingly inescapable pattern and shares his own story in Spring Valley.
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Governor Scott Walker issued vetoes to the 2017-19 Wisconsin state budget, one of which eliminated funding for low-spending schools districts that have had revenue caps since 1993. Adams-Friendship School District administrator Jim Boebel discusses its impact.
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Gov. Scott Walker's 2017-19 budget proposal would boost funding by $31 million for rural school districts to help cover gaps related to declining enrollment and other issues. Hurley School District administrator Chris Patritto discusses what this would mean for the northern Wisconsin district.
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Statewide standardized test stores dropped slightly in Wisconsin in 2019. State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor discusses this decline, and elaborates on the variety of factors that affect the achievement of students and resources of teachers.
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A years-long slump in Wisconsin school enrollment is continuing. Sarah Kemp, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin Applied Population Lab explains why — and in which types of school districts — these drops are happening.
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About one in six households across Wisconsin lack an internet connection, creating digital inequities that impact students and communities as a whole. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction broadband consultant Bill Herman discusses these gaps and where schools are finding solutions.
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Many students in rural areas in Wisconsin and across the country are still facing inequity, according to a new study from the Rural School and Community Trust, a national nonprofit that helps rural schools and communities.