Senate Bill 61 proposes amendments to the calculation of shared costs for school districts in Wisconsin, specifically regarding expenditures funded by referenda. The bill stipulates that expenditures from a school district's general fund or debt service fund, authorized by an operating or capital referendum exceeding $50,000,000 held after the bill's enactment, will be excluded from the shared cost calculation. This exclusion applies unless the school district was classified as a negative tertiary school district in the previous year, which is defined as having an equalized valuation that exceeds the tertiary guaranteed valuation per member.

The bill also amends existing statutes to clarify the definition of shared costs and introduces new provisions regarding debt service exclusions. Specifically, it modifies the language in current law to ensure that shared costs exclude certain expenditures, including those related to lawsuits against the state and costs associated with environmental remediation projects. The new language emphasizes that debt service on debt authorized by a referendum to borrow at least $50,000,000 will also be excluded from shared costs, again with the exception for negative tertiary school districts.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 121.07(6)(a)(intro.), 121.07, 121.07(6)(am)