Defund, discredit, dismantle: The GOP’s quiet war on Wisconsin’s public schools
The rapid rise of school funding referendums makes it all the more clear that Wisconsin lawmakers need to better invest in public funds for public schools in the next state budget.
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Here in Wisconsin, our state legislature — with a GOP majority — is actively defunding our public schools while discrediting the critical work they do for our kids and communities. They are writing budgets that intentionally shortchange our classrooms. And they’re betting you’re not paying attention, while consequences pile up.
As a mother of three and a former middle school teacher, I’ve seen firsthand what public education makes possible — and what happens when it’s under attack.
I want to be transparent with you: I have two kids who attend a private school we love and appreciate. But our youngest — a child with complex needs — is thriving in a public school that wraps him up in support and care. He sees a nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and a full-time aide during the school day. That kind of comprehensive support is something private schools are not legally required to offer — and often don’t. Kids like mine are regularly denied admission. Public schools catch them when no one else will.
That’s what makes our Republican lawmakers’ assault on public education not just cruel, but dangerous.
We are now well into the 2025–2027 state budget cycle, and even as the state has a more than $4 billion surplus, the writing is on the wall: funding for public schools will likely lag behind inflation again, just as it has for the past sixteen years. Meanwhile, the cost of everything — staffing, heating, buses, technology, school lunches, supplies, etc. — continues to rise. We are not simply neglecting our schools; we are prolonging a funding crisis that has real, human consequences.
Between February and April of this year alone, there were 94 school referendum questions on ballots across Wisconsin. In 2024, there were 241 referendums. It’s maddening. The majority of these are operational — they seek to keep the lights on, retain teachers, fix leaky roofs. This spring, only 53 of those referendums passed. In districts where they didn’t, we’re already seeing the fallout: teacher layoffs, program cuts, and deep anxiety in communities that can no longer afford the basics.
Look at Fond du Lac and Dodgeville school districts, who failed their referendums and now are projected to eliminate 18 and 13 staff members, respectively, amongst other cuts. And the majority of districts suffering most are rural, working-class, and under-resourced — the very communities Republicans claim to champion.
I’ve spoken directly with Republican state representatives here in northeastern Wisconsin about this crisis. Some feign ignorance. Others speak with open contempt about our public schools — as though the collapse of these institutions would be a win for them.
And, in a way, it would. Because this is not just budgetary neglect. I was berated for ten minutes by a state senator in the area after attending a listening session in my town where they maligned our public schools, saying they do a “sh*tty job” and calling me a hypocrite for my family’s choices (which, by the way, seems a bit hypocritical from someone who is unabashedly pro school choice).
As I was on the receiving end of that outburst, one I had not asked for or provoked. I recognized this for what it was — a manifestation in part of a national campaign that aims to discredit, defund, and dismantle public education and replace it with a patchwork of private, unregulated, and profit-driven alternatives.
The truth about vouchers
One of the main tools in this campaign? School vouchers.
Vouchers pull taxpayer money out of our public schools and funnel it directly into private and religious schools — many of which are not held to the same standards, don’t serve all students, and aren’t accountable to the public. The GOP has made the expansion of Wisconsin’s voucher programs a top priority for more than a decade, even as rural schools close, referendums fail, and classrooms go without basic resources.
It’s no accident. The Republican Party is backed by powerful, well-funded special interest groups whose goal is to privatize everything — including education. They frame vouchers as “school choice,” but for most families, that choice is an illusion. In rural areas, there is often just one local public school — and that’s it. Vouchers don’t build new schools in these communities; they just siphon money away from the only option families have. And in urban and suburban areas, so-called “choice” is limited by real barriers like transportation, enrollment caps, and selective admissions. A private school across town doesn’t help if you can’t get your child there or if they won’t take them. The promise of vouchers sounds good on paper, but in practice, it leaves too many kids behind — and weakens the public schools that serve all of us.
Worse still, the voucher system in Wisconsin is set up in a way that allows private schools to double-dip — collecting public dollars and charging tuition, while refusing to enroll students with disabilities, English language learners, or those who need extra support.
Public schools remain the only place that says “yes” to every child. But they’re asked to do more with less every year.
Let’s be clear: public school dollars should stay in public schools. We don’t send public fire department dollars to a private fire service and call it “choice.” We don’t give people a “voucher” to pave their own road. But we’ve allowed this logic to take over education policy — and it’s hurting kids.
The long-term cost of disinvestment
Let’s also dig into how fiscally irresponsible this all is. When we don’t invest in public education, we’re not saving money — we’re simply moving the costs elsewhere. Underfunded schools lead to lower graduation rates, higher incarceration rates, more reliance on public assistance, and less economic mobility. Every dollar we withhold today will cost us two or three down the line — in healthcare, in criminal justice, in lost productivity.
If we don’t adequately invest now, we’ll pay for it down the road.
As a teacher, I know that schools are the heart of our communities. As a mom, I know what it feels like to entrust your child to a public school and pray they’ll have what they need. And as a voter, I know that the fight for public education is not a niche issue — it’s the issue. It’s about our kids. Our communities. Our future.
Republican leaders are counting on us to stay quiet while they dismantle the most democratic institution we have — the public school. We can’t let them. Because if we lose our public schools, we don’t just lose teachers and textbooks. We lose the promise that every kid — no matter how much money their family makes, where they live, or what their abilities are — deserves a fair shot.
This isn’t just a debate over policy. It’s a battle for our values. And we have to choose — loud and clear — which side we’re on. Public funds for public schools. Full stop.
Emily Tseffos is the chair of the Democratic Party of Outagamie County in northeastern Wisconsin, 2024 State Assembly candidate, and former statewide organizer for Indivisible. She is dedicated to electing progressive candidates locally and prioritizes building sustainable, genuine grassroots capacity in larger cities and rural communities through strategic, consistent development.
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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer and at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social.
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Excellent piece! Thank you Emily and Dan. This is the #1 issue for our communities.
It's obscene that GOP legislators have starved our public schools for 16 yrs and have created the impression that school districts are poorly managing resources.
If state funding had just kept up with inflation, the Fond du Lac School district would have a $10 million dollar surplus instead of a $10 million dollar deficit. That's even with declining enrollments.
Thank you for highlighting this important topic, yet have to say I wish all 3 of your kids went to public school. Your decisions may in part contribute to the defunding efforts. Public schools have become available for those who are not as wealthy and those with special needs.
I believe strongly in public education and do not support vouchers. We have allowed the GOP to rob us blind and create ignorance in the meantime.
Will this article help to push our communities into attending the necessary meetings, to join the democratic party, to protest, to vote? I'm there, are "you"?