Calling Wisconsin’s school funding formula broken is one of the oldest refrains in state politics, but the sheer number and size of operating referendums around the state shows schools districts and voters agree the state is not providing enough money.

Here & Now talked with 2026 candidates for governor about funding for public education and what they would like to see happen with the school voucher program.

“Well, you can’t do it without money, and we’ve been asking schools and teachers to do more and more with less and less and less. Our kids haven’t even gotten an inflationary increase for 15 years. That, to me, is unacceptable. So, money is essential, but it’s not only money, right? Teachers also need professional development time and training and the respect that they deserve as professionals. The single most important factor in a kid’s success is the quality of the teacher at the front of the classroom. So, investing in teacher retention so that we have the most experienced, the most capable, skilled teachers able to stay in the classroom and stay in the education field and mentor newer teachers, I think is absolutely essential,” said state Sen. Kelda Roys, a Democratic candidate.

“Well, I think we’ve got to make sure that we look absolutely at how do we spend more on public education in Wisconsin. One of the challenges, I think, is that we’re still working on a system — Tommy Thompson took a snapshot of what things looked like in 1993 — and we’re still looking, we’re still working with that system 32 years later. I think it would be courageous and necessary for us to look at exactly what we need to do for 2026 and moving forward, rather than trying to make the best of a 30-year-old system,” said former Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, a Democratic candidate.

“We used to fund our public schools to the tune of two-thirds, and we no longer do that. And now, not just our teachers, but our young people are hurting every single day. I think that we need to actually take a step back. We need to take a step back and look at not just our revenues, but how we’re spending money. I think that we should put in place a blue ribbon commission on taxes. This isn’t something, this is something that hasn’t happened since the mid ’80s, but this gives an opportunity for university officials to be at the table, business leaders, government folks, you know, just the public, to have a transparent conversation. What’s working in other states? What can we bring here to make sure that we have a system of revenue and spending that works for everyone and works to the future?,” said Milwaukee County Exec. David Crowley, a Democratic candidate.

“The reform is in our inequitable school funding formula that pits communities against one another, that raises property taxes, but also makes it so that the disparities among students, especially those who are lower income, are not being addressed —- and so, increasing special education for 90% reimbursement at sum-sufficient levels, and making sure that we’re increasing general aid. Our schools have been defunded for over a decade now, and if we do not prioritize public education, which is one of our last remaining democratic institutions, we as a state will not succeed,” said state Rep. Francesca Hong, a Democratic candidate.

“We need to make sure that we are investing the money, because what we see all across the state is that there are all of these referendums, and people are voting to increase their own taxes. Not to pay for a new science lab, not to pay for a new middle school, but to pay for operational expenses, teachers’ salaries. and that is just unsustainable moving forward. So, we have to put more dollars into the public school system, but we also have to look at reform to make sure that kids are getting the education they need to be able to succeed,” said Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a Democratic candidate.

“So, I would be fine if we put more money into education. In fact, I expect that we will, but we need to make sure that it goes to children and families. We should pay good teachers more and I think we should reward administrators that are successful in their schools. We have to get back to where we reward success in education. and I think that’s one of the way we fix this problem of us falling behind Mississippi. I’m not adverse to putting more money in, but there has to be accountability,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate.

“I believe that every school in the state of Wisconsin can be a world-class school, but it takes the investment. We can’t compare students who have every single need met versus those who have hardly any needs met. We have to invest in the whole child. And that’s the kind of overhaul that I’m looking at. Ensuring that all of our students are fed, all of our students are housed, all of the students have the health care, mental and physical health care, and make sure that they have all their needs met, so when they’re showing up to school, they are ready to learn. So that when they go home, they have a foundation that retains the education that they got in that school building. Until we start looking at complete outcomes for all of our children, then the conversation about is it funding, is it not funding — it’s immaterial,” said former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a Democratic candidate.

“You know, right now we’re in this situation where we have said that competition is good. Decades ago we decided, you know, competition is going to make our public schools better. But one thing we’re not doing is looking at the rating of how other schools are doing that are receiving public funds, whether those are charter schools or other types of choice schools. We need to have a scale that helps us understand how are they competing. It isn’t necessarily that something must be better than public schools. It’s, let’s have a real accountability, make sure our kids are achieving and getting the quality that they need in order to succeed. I will do everything I can to support public schools and public school teachers because that is so fundamental to how we are as a state,” said former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, a Democratic candidate.

Wisconsin’s school voucher program was created in the 1990s in Milwaukee, and expanded statewide in 2010. As the cost of the program has grown, the question Here & Now put to the candidates is whether it should expand, contract or stay the same.

“I think that we need to look and make sure that we have good accountability and transparency first. Before we start making decisions about stopping or starting or eliminating, we need to understand what are they providing for our children and our families, ’cause there are families that are counting on those voucher schools. But at the same time, it can’t come at the cost of public schools, and it can’t come at the cost of making sure that we’re funding special education,” Hughes said.

“It all comes down to accountability. That’s the most important thing we can do — that has to be paramount. We have to ensure that there are structures in place that don’t create a playing field where some schools operate by one set of rules and another set of schools operate by a different set of rules. Any public funding should come with public accountability, and that’s the bottom line,” Barnes said.

“You know, we’ve had choice in Wisconsin and it’s worked for thousands of families across the state of Wisconsin. We should continue to have that program, but I’m a product of public schools as well as my seven brothers and sisters. All three of my daughters went to public schools up in the Minocqua area, and public schooling has a long, proud history in Wisconsin. We need to make sure that we have a strong private, public and parochial system. Regardless of how you choose to educate, we’ve got to make sure we have a strong educational system,” Tiffany said.

“I think we need to absolutely address the voucher system. We need to make sure that the voucher system is what it was originally intended to do, which was for low-income families to be able to have some choices. Right now, we do not have an income limit on the voucher system and we’re going to be taking off the cap for the vouchers. And that is going to be funneling public money into private schools. We cannot afford to have two separate school systems within the state of Wisconsin. So we’re going to have to have some reform in that area as well,” Rodriguez said.

“I am very concerned about public dollars going to private schools and a system that is unaccountable and not transparent. and how they may or may not be serving our kids. And so it’s critical that we look at a program that seems more and more to be like a scam,” Hong said.

“I think one, we need to fully fund our public school systems. You cannot get rid of the voucher system unless our schools are in the place to actually educate all of our students in every community across Wisconsin. And that means fully funding our public school systems. But any system that is receiving public dollars should be held to the same standards of our public schools. They need to be transparent, they need to be held accountable, and they need to make sure, again, to be held to the same standards that public schools are held to, no matter what community they’re in in Wisconsin,” Crowley said.

“You know, the voucher system has now been in place for the last 30 years. I’m not interested in a dramatic expansion of it, but I also think there’s challenges of trying to put that genie back into the bottle. I think the most fundamental thing for us is around accountability for everybody in education, making sure that we have the right investment in kids, and making sure that we’re holding ourselves, holding schools accountable for the challenges that we have in education. But at the same time, you know, as in anything with education, there are lots of problems that come to the schoolhouse door that have nothing to do with what happens inside that schoolhouse,” Brennan said.

“I would like to see the voucher system brought to a responsible close. We simply cannot and should not try to fund two different separate school systems. Their taxpayer money needs to be accountable to taxpayers, and public dollars should fund the public school system,” Roys said.