The Assembly adjourned today without taking up a bill that was on today’s calendar to move the Wisconsin Technical College System off the property tax rolls and replace that money with more state aid.
AB 2 was initially introduced to repeal the personal property tax, but the shared revenue bill Evers signed this week included a provision to eliminate the tax. The bill was then amended in committee to remove all provisions on the personal property tax and eliminate the WTCS operating levy authority.
The WTCS opposes the proposal and President Morna Foy has argued that authority is “integral” to the relationship between the schools and the local businesses and communities they serve.
Along with state aid and property taxes, the WTCS is also funded with student tuition and fees, as well as federal aid and other sources.
In the 2020-21 school year, property taxes accounted for $486.5 million of the system’s $1.6 billion in funding, or about 30 percent. The rest included: $527.3 million in state aid, $236.2 million in tuition and fees, $110.7 million in federal aid, and $253.3 million from self-financing and other sources.
