Property Tax Transparency

Sen. Smith: Hi, folks. I’m State Senator Jeff Smith,

Rep. Andraca: and I’m State Representative Deb Andraca.

Sen. Smith: That’s right. And we want to talk about what we think is very important information that citizens should have. And that is about where voucher programs are funded from, and it’s from you. 

Sen. Smith: But I’m going to tell you how it started. In 2017 with a small group of citizens that I convened with about education, the question came up from Chris Hambuch-Boyle, a school board member and former teacher and a constituent who said, “Why can’t we put it on the property tax bill so people know that their property taxes are paying for private education?”

Rep. Andraca: Everybody gets a property tax bill. No one likes paying taxes, but what it does is it shows you where your money goes. I live in Whitefish Bay. I know exactly how much money of my tax dollars are going to the Whitefish Bay School District. But what you don’t know is how much might be leaving via voucher schools. The voucher schools are funded by a reduction in money from your local school, and in some cases this can be millions of dollars. So when your local school asks you for more money via a referenda because the state has been shortchanging schools for a long time, a lot of that could be due to what’s leaving the district via voucher programs. But you need to know that so that you can make an informed decision whenever these referenda come up. 

Sen. Smith: This affects your property taxes. We think this is a matter of need to know, and we hope that this bill passes and you have that opportunity to know where your money goes. 

Rep. Andraca: And the question shouldn’t be, “why should we do this?” The question should be, “why shouldn’t we do it?” Please call your representative. Ask them to sign on to this bill and give it a public hearing. And if they don’t support it, ask them why they don’t want you to know where your tax dollars are going. 

Sen. Smith: And thank you for listening.