Despite recent increases in state funding, more school districts are turning to referenda to increase spending. In numbers and total dollars, successful school referenda in 2018 may exceed those in 2016, which marked the highest year since 2001. Our latest Taxpayer looks at recent trends in school referenda.
Our interactive dashboards provide more school referenda figures, including district by district data.
The tool below displays school district referenda data from 1993 to proposed referenda on the ballot in November. There are three types: debt referenda are for capital expenses such as a new building; non-recurring are for increasing the district’s revenues beyond state caps for a period of several years; and recurring are for districts seeking to exceed their revenue limits permanently.
Statewide, school districts are asking for more funding from voters. Since the end of the Great Recession, funds requested and approved via referenda have increased.
