Kewaskum School District Board of Education Approves 2025–26 Budget

The Kewaskum School District Board of Education has approved the 2025–26 school year budget, totaling $33,977,117, an increase of 3.43% over the prior year. The approved budget includes a total tax levy of $13,877,189, which will support student programming, facility maintenance, and district operations.
Although the district’s expenditures are projected to increase by less than 3.5%, the overall property tax levy will rise at a significantly higher rate. This is due primarily to state policy decisions that have frozen general school aid through 2027, meaning that school districts statewide must rely more heavily on local taxpayers to fund even modest operational increases.
“The higher levy doesn’t reflect new or excessive spending,” said Jim Leister, President of the Kewaskum Board of Education. “It’s a reflection of how state funding formulas are structured. With state aid frozen, local property taxpayers are being asked to carry a larger share of what it costs to educate our students.”
Under the 2025–27 Wisconsin state budget, school districts are allowed to raise their revenue limits by $325 per student in each of the next two years, but no additional state aid was provided to offset that increase. As a result, most Wisconsin districts, including Kewaskum, will see higher property tax levies even though their total expenditures are growing modestly.
“For taxpayers, this can be confusing,” explained Dr. Mark Bazata, Superintendent of the Kewaskum School District. “When people see a levy increase of 10.8% while spending only rises by less than 3%, it’s natural to wonder why. The answer lies in how the state’s equalization formula and aid freeze interact with local property values and student enrollment. The local levy is going up simply to maintain services, not to expand them.”

Another factor impacting this year’s property tax levy is an increase in the private school voucher tax by 20%. This portion of the levy is mandated by the state to fund the private schools and is collected through local property taxes, but none of this money stays with the Kewaskum School District.
“Over 300 of Wisconsin’s school districts see less state aid than last year. This is concerning in that the state has the ability to fund additional school support but chose not to keep up with even nominal inflationary increases to costs. It’s true that, from a statewide perspective, enrollments are decreasing but that is already baked into the current school funding formulas,” said Kewaskum Business Manager Keith Brightman.
The Kewaskum School District continues to prioritize fiscal responsibility while investing in initiatives that directly benefit students. The 2025–26 budget maintains or enhances:
• Academic and career-readiness programs that prepare students for college, trades, and the workforce
• Maintain music, arts, and extracurricular opportunities
• Investments in instructional technology, curriculum renewal, and student support services
• Safe, well-maintained learning environments
“We know that maintaining community trust starts with transparency,” Bazata said. “Our focus remains on providing families and taxpayers with clear, accurate information and demonstrating how every dollar contributes to student learning and success.”
The Board and administration encourage residents to visit the Kewaskum School District website for more details about the 2025–26 budget, including how changes in state funding impact local property taxes and how tax dollars are invested in student programs.