MMAC launches TV, radio, digital ads urging residents to vote against MPS referendum

Milwaukee residents will start seeing an ad campaign backed by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce urging them to vote no on a proposed Milwaukee Public Schools referendum.

The effort, called "Enough is Enough," says the April 2 referendum would increase property taxes by 30% and that the district has wasted almost a billion dollars in new taxpayer funding in the last four years. Ads will start airing on local TV and radio stations beginning Tuesday and continue until the April 2 election, according to the committee's news release. Digital and direct-mail ads are also part of the campaign.

“Increasing taxes while Milwaukee families are paying more for everything – from gas to groceries – is simply wrong. Enough is enough,” MMAC President Dale Kooyenga said in the committee's news release. “This referendum would result in an unaffordable property tax hike that will hit homeowners and renters directly in the pocket. Milwaukee Public Schools have wasted almost a billion dollars in new taxpayer funding in the last four years, including funds from a previous tax hike in 2020. Because of that, voters should vote no on April 2nd.”

Milwaukee Public Schools' voters are being asked to decide whether to increase property taxes to support a $252 million referendum that if approved, would provide an additional $140 million in 2024-25; $51 million in 2025-26; $47 million in 2026-27 and $14 million in 2027-28.

MPS said it needs the referendum funding, otherwise it faces a $200 million budget shortfall. Without the funding, MPS says it would have to make cuts to staff, programming and services.

If approved, the referendum would raise school taxes by an estimated additional $2.16 per $1,000 of property value, which would be a $432 increase in school taxes for the owner of a $200,000 home. That would bring the school tax rate from $7.94 per $1,000 (tax of $1,588 for a $200,000 home) to $10.10 per $1,000 of property value next year (a tax of $2,020 for a $200,000 home).

Along with the MMAC, Milwaukee attorney Dan Adams started a political action committee opposed to the referendum. Critics of the referendum have said the district has not provided enough details about the deficit it would face or what the funds would cover. They have also said the district has not tried to reduce costs in proportion to its declining enrollment.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MMAC 'Enough is Enough' campaign urges MPS referendum no vote