When given the choice of having lower property taxes or more funding for public schools, most Wisconsin residents will go with the lower property taxes.
Wisconsin Public Radio reports the newly released Marquette University Law School Poll found 60% of respondents prioritizing lower property taxes while 40% said public school funding was more important to them. Poll director Charles Franklin said the 60% share voicing more concerned with property taxes than school funding was the highest since Marquette began its polling in 2013.
The poll also found 57% of respondents saying they were inclined to vote against a referendum to increase taxes for schools in their community, while 43% said they would support such a measure. Furthermore, 84% of respondents said they wanted to see a substantial share of the $2.5 billion state budget surplus of $2.5 billion devoted to property tax relief, while 16% said none of those funds should be used for lowering property taxes.
“It’s not as simple as just paying for schools from property taxes; the state has a role in that as well,” Franklin said. “But in the last eight years of divided government between a Republican legislature and a Democratic governor, we’ve seen very little ability of the two sides to find compromises that balance [Gov.] Evers’ commitment to funding the schools and Republicans commitment to holding down spending.”
Marquette surveyed 818 registered Wisconsin voters from Feb. 11-19 for the poll.
