The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has certified the general school aid amounts districts will receive this school year. State law requires the certified figures to be released by Oct. 15, and they replace the estimates issued on July 1.
Statewide, general aid stays at $5.58 billion for a third year in a row. Before the current two-year budget period, the last year the total did not rise was 2017-18.
General aid is the state's largest form of support for public PK-12 schools. It is worked out from prior-year student counts and financial data and is shared among districts through the equalization aid formula.
Among area districts, Marshfield will receive $30,586,161 and Wisconsin Rapids $44,269,713. Other certified amounts include $10,020,003 for Abbotsford, $9,984,679 for Colby, $6,784,566 for Auburndale, $6,876,079 for Stratford, $6,342,700 for Spencer and $3,197,651 for Pittsville.
The release also includes enrollment figures for independent charter schools and for private schools in the choice and special needs scholarship programs. Those programs are funded from current-year data, and enrollment is used to work out amounts withheld from district aid payments to pay for them.
