Green Bay, Wis ‒The Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) is facing a financial crisis that threatens the foundation of its educational system. Fueled by years of declining state aid, rising operational costs, and mandated payments to private and charter schools, this has culminated in a $3.6 million budget deficit. The consequences could be staggering for the thousands of students, educators, and families caught in the midst of this conflict.
To avoid directly impacting day-to-day operations within the schools, the district has made strategic budget decisions like consolidating schools and reducing department spending.
“In our department, for example, we cut the size of our community newsletters in half to save on printing and postage,” said Lori Blakeslee, GBAPS director of communications. “We’re also renegotiating contracts with vendors to reflect lower student enrollment numbers. These are strategic cuts that don’t directly impact students but still help us meet our financial goals.”
To reduce the deficit, all district office departments were asked to cut 10 percent from their budgets this year. The goal, according to the district’s communications department, is to target savings at the administrative level rather than in schools.
“We’re still providing impactful information to our community,” said Blakeslee. “But we’re being more selective about what we share so we can reduce our budget without directly impacting classrooms.”
The district’s funding challenges stem largely from changes in how Wisconsin allocates money for public education. This year, Green Bay received $3.3 million less in state aid than the year before, while the state’s new $325 per-pupil increase was not equalized, meaning the district had to raise that money locally through property taxes.
As a result, the district’s overall property tax levy increased by about five percent. The district’s budget documents emphasize that the levy increase was necessary to make up for declining state support.
“When the state doesn’t fully fund public education, local property taxpayers end up paying the bill, and it’s not that the district is raising taxes. It’s that property values are increasing faster than the mill rate is dropping.” The mill rate for the upcoming 2025–26 school year is projected to decline from $7.65 to $7.38 per $1,000 of property value. But with housing values in some parts of the district increasing by nearly 10 percent, many residents will still see higher tax bills.
The district’s deficit also points to Wisconsin’s expanding private school voucher program as a major financial pressure on public schools. Under the state system, money that would have gone to public school districts is instead redirected to pay for voucher students, and those costs are covered through local property taxes.
“While public schools received a $325 per-pupil increase this year, voucher payments went up about $650 per pupil,” said Blakelee.
The district estimates it will lose about $14 million this year to voucher-related funding transfers.
To manage costs, the district has already closed three schools and plans to consolidate three more, along with shutting down its online school, by the end of this school year. However, with the consolidation of schools like Keller and Kennedy Elementary, the new Bart Starr Elementary, currently being constructed, will act as an investment to further reduce spending by reducing the amount needed to sustain multiple educational facilities.
Still, district leaders warn that the coming year will bring more difficult choices. With no significant increase in state funding expected, Green Bay anticipates another deficit next year.
“We’re doing everything we can to avoid a negative impact on students, but with such limited revenue growth, we’ll have to look carefully at programming and staffing moving forward,” said Blakelee.
Legacy Powell, a current sophomore at Green Bay West High School, says he is worried about potential cuts to athletic programs in the future
“Sports are something our school needs, something that brings people together”, Powell says. “Many of the students need places to grow and mentors like our coaches to guide us through difficult challenges that not everyone has access to outside of extracurricular activities.”
Officials hope that as discussions around future referenda begin, more residents will engage with the process.