by Joseph Back

All are equal in dignity, but if equal opportunity is to stand or be firmly established, adjustments will be made for income and other reasons in school state aid. This, in sum, is the theory of distributive justice, in which dollars are awarded according to a proportional model, rather than a simple headcount.

Numbers put out by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) this October detail the aid scale. Shall we begin?

Starting with Stanley-Boyd, general state aid for local education in 2020-21 totaled $8,013,930, up 2.01 percent or $157,948 from last year’s figure of $7,855,982. Meanwhile at Cadott Community Schools due west, the aid report came out in 2020-21 school year at $6,594,290 from Madison, a full 2.10 percent or $135,672 increase over the previous school year’s number of $6,458,618.

Shifting back east and north to Gilman Schools, the general state aid for 2020-21 totals out to $1,980,822, a 2.26 percent or $45,801 decrease over the previous school year’s figure of 2,026,623. For Thorp meanwhile, the folks at Madison awarded $4,188,658 for the current school year, a 6.37 percent or $250,815 increase from the 2019-20 academic year. If you want to make the big bucks, or at least get close, you have to live in a county capital— at least at first glance, that is. Not all numbers mean what they appear to. So what’s the report?

In the first place, Chippewa Falls looks to be doing good, with $30,768,998 in general state aid for 2020-21, a full 0.62 percent or $190,986 increase over aid from 2019, set at $30,578,012. In fairness, Chippewa Falls last registered a population of 13,661 in the 2010 census, while Stanley has averaged roughly 2,000 in its population situated north of Highway 29, and Boyd has roughly 500. Taken as such and assuming a similar ratio of student learners to overall population, Stanley-Boyd actually received a higher increase in state aid measured in per student dollars. Proportional awards, thou art a friend. So what about Medford, for Taylor County residents?

In simple dollar counts, Medford received $14,923,055 in the 2020-21 school year, an increase of 2.55 percent or $370,654 from the year previous. Finally in Neillsville, schools in the Clark County capital received a total of $5,625,541 in general state aid for the current school year, a 6.51 percent or $343,779 increase over the year previous at $5,281,762. Additional information on state schools is available by traveling to the Wisconsin DPI website at dpi.wi.gov.