Wisconsin · Brillion · Calumet County · CESA 07

Brillion School District

District briefing, fall 2026: survey results alongside enrollment, achievement, finances and property taxes.

On the ballot · November 3, 2026

Brillion School District: one referendum question

Shall the Brillion Public School District, Calumet, Manitowoc and Brown Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,000,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of expenses to maintain educational programs and services, pay staff compensation, update technology, and building maintenance costs?

Source: newspaper legal notice

Enrollment
958
2024-25
Revenue-limit members
876
2025-26 funding count
Enrollment, 5 yr
+5.5%
headcount change · peers −2.6%
Forward ELA z
+0.94
last 3 tested years
Cost / member
$17,065
2024-25
Mill rate
7.37
statewide K-12 6.90
Home value
−8%
5-yr avg vs. 23 nearby districts
Survey responses
388
latest staff + parent
Enrollment

958 students in 2024-25, +5.5% over five years while the regional peer median moved −2.6%.

Achievement

Forward Exam results average +0.94 (ELA) and +0.96 (math) on a z scale over the last three tested years, where 0 is the average Wisconsin district. ACT composite: 18.8 against a statewide median of 19.2.

Spending

$17,065 total cost per member in 2024-25, in line with the regional peer median of $17,104 and below the statewide median of $18,324.

Taxes

The school tax rate is 7.37 mills (2025-26), against a statewide K-12 median of 6.90; the 2025-26 levy is $5.2M, 23% of it referendum-approved debt.

Revenue limit

$14,526 per member under the state revenue limit, against a statewide K-12 median of $13,575; voters have decided 2 operating questions, passing 1, most recently Apr 2026 (non-recurring, failed).

Survey results

388 parents and staff responses in the latest surveys. The lowest-rated area is child experience among parents (10th percentile among surveyed districts).

School Perceptions surveyed Brillion's parents and staff. Each index below averages several survey items on a 1–5 scale. The percentile places the district among every Wisconsin district that took the same survey that school year; 50th is the middle.

Parent survey, 2024-25 n = 266

IndexDistrict (1–5)StatewideRegionalPercentile among surveyed districtsChange vs. prior survey
District governance3.733.643.7253rd—
Communication and involvement3.833.973.9312th—
Child experience3.884.044.0010th—

Likelihood to recommend the district (0–10): 7.61 in 2024-25, statewide median 7.46.

Staff survey, 2024-25 n = 122

IndexDistrict (1–5)StatewideRegionalPercentile among surveyed districtsChange vs. prior survey
Voice & supervisor support4.033.743.7994th+0.08
District governance3.963.483.5390th+0.05
Student discipline3.302.993.1473rd+0.13
Educational quality3.803.773.8354th+0.02
Resource adequacy4.004.094.1025th+0.11

Likelihood to recommend the district (0–10): 8.21 in 2024-25, statewide median 7.24.

Statewide = mean across surveyed Wisconsin districts; regional = surveyed districts in the same region. Change compares the district's index with its previous survey of the same audience.

Brillion enrolled 958 students in 2024-25 (September membership). Since 2009-10 its enrollment has grown 4%; the median regional peer shrank 5% and the median Wisconsin district shrank 12%. The chart indexes each series to its 2009-10 level. Private schools inside the district's boundaries enroll 15.9% of school-age children (2024-25), against 9.7% in the median district.

BrillionRegional peers (median)Wisconsin (median district)
1061019691852009-102013-142017-182024-25

Students, 2025-26

Student group2025-262020-21Median WI district
Students with disabilities13.1%12.5%16.6%
English learners5.7%5.3%2.4%
Economically disadvantaged31.1%32.1%36.7%
White81.0%86.3%85.3%
Hispanic13.0%10.0%6.8%
Two or More3.9%2.2%3.9%
Asian0.8%0.4%0.9%
Black0.8%0.9%1.0%
Amer Indian0.4%0.2%0.4%

Community (ACS 2024)

MeasureBrillionMedian WI district
Median household income$70,234$77,317
Poverty rate8.5%8.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more18.8%25.4%
Households with children37.0%25.9%
Residents 65 and older20.2%20.5%
Median home value$221,100$241,800

Home values against nearby districts

Across the five most recent Census releases (2016–20 to 2020–24), the median owner-occupied home in Brillion averaged $190,320, 8% below the median of the 23 districts within 25 miles ($206,200). That ranks 15th of 24 in the area and at the 37th percentile of Wisconsin districts (state median $205,920).

ACS 5-year releaseBrillionNearby medianDifferenceWisconsin median
2016–20$156,900$171,600−9%$172,200
2017–21$161,200$174,800−8%$182,750
2018–22$198,200$209,300−5%$210,250
2019–23$214,200$231,300−7%$227,050
2020–24$221,100$251,700−12%$241,800
Five-release average$190,320$206,200−8%$205,920

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, median value of owner-occupied homes (table B25077), in nominal dollars. Consecutive releases share four of their five survey years, so the average is a smoothed level rather than five independent years. Nearby districts are those whose NCES office address lies within 25 miles of Brillion's: Stockbridge (13 mi, $287,360); De Pere (19 mi, $285,140); Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah (23 mi, $283,080); Freedom Area (18 mi, $282,520); West De Pere (19 mi, $265,900); Wrightstown Community (11 mi, $262,540); Kimberly Area (14 mi, $253,860); Denmark (17 mi, $241,540); Kaukauna Area (11 mi, $226,280); Neenah Joint (20 mi, $214,380); Ashwaubenon (21 mi, $214,240); Kiel Area (18 mi, $206,200); Appleton Area (18 mi, $205,720); Valders Area (12 mi, $192,400); New Holstein (16 mi, $188,160); Mishicot (22 mi, $185,500); Green Bay Area Public (24 mi, $185,480); Little Chute Area (15 mi, $184,260); Chilton (12 mi, $183,520); Reedsville (6 mi, $180,220); Hilbert (6 mi, $177,840); Menasha Joint (19 mi, $161,620); Manitowoc (20 mi, $145,140).

Enrollment and the funding count

Wisconsin's revenue limit, which caps what a district may raise from general state aid and the property tax combined, is set per member using a three-year rolling average of membership: each September's full-time-equivalent count plus 40% of summer-school FTE. Brillion's revenue-limit membership for 2025-26 is 876.

School yearEnrolled studentsRevenue-limit membershipPer enrolled student
2020-218788560.97
2021-229378600.92
2022-239268650.93
2023-249058700.96
2024-259588710.91
2025-26—876—

DPI revenue limit worksheets (three-year average membership) and DPI September membership. Years without a membership count show a dash.

In spring 2025, 70% of Brillion students met or exceeded Forward standards in ELA and 72% in math, against 54% and 57% in the median Wisconsin district.

On a z scale, which puts every year on the same footing across the 2023-24 rescaling, Brillion averaged +0.94 in ELA and +0.96 in math over the last three tested years, against +0.96 and +1.10 in its first three years on file.

BrillionRegional peers (median)Average Wisconsin district (0)

ELA

+1.34+0.89+0.45+0.01−0.442015-162019-202024-25

Math

+1.67+1.25+0.84+0.420.002015-162019-202024-25

Wisconsin rescaled the Forward Exam in 2023-24. Z-scores standardize each year's result against every comparable district that year (0 = the average district; +1 = one standard deviation above), so years on either side of a test or cut-score change can be compared. Testing was canceled in spring 2020.

Attendance, ACT, college-going and discipline

MeasureBrillionRegional peersWisconsin medianYear
Attendance rate95.0%95.0%94.3%2024-25
Chronic absenteeism6.1%8.8%10.9%2024-25
ACT composite (grade 11)18.818.819.22024-25
Suspensions and expulsions per 1,00022.834.033.02024-25

DPI WISEdash files. Chronic absenteeism = share of students missing 10% or more of enrolled days.

Brillion's total cost per member was $17,065 in 2024-25, against $17,104 for the median regional peer and $18,324 for the median Wisconsin district. Local property tax paid for 31% of revenue, against 38% statewide.

BrillionRegional peers (median)Wisconsin (median district)
$19,274$16,821$14,368$11,915$9,4612006-072010-112014-152018-192024-25

The revenue limit allows $14,526 per member for 2025-26, above the statewide K-12 median of $13,575 and above the regional peer median of $12,912. The limit counts general state aid and the property tax together, so state aid changes move the levy rather than total revenue. Voters have decided 2 operating questions, passing 1, most recently apr 2026 (non-recurring, failed).

BrillionRegional peers (median)Wisconsin (median district)
$15,293$13,313$11,332$9,352$7,3722005-062009-102013-142017-182021-222025-26

Total district cost per member and revenue shares: DPI comparative cost data. Revenue limit: DPI revenue limit worksheets; statewide comparison is K-12 districts only.

The district's 2025-26 levy is $5.2M, at a rate of 7.37 mills per $1,000 of equalized value (statewide K-12 median 6.90). 23% of the levy repays referendum-approved debt (Fund 39).

Levy yearTotal levyGeneral fund (Fund 10)Referendum debt (Fund 39)Mill rate
2020-21$4.0M$2.5M$1.4M9.27
2021-22$4.0M$2.0M$1.9M8.86
2022-23$4.0M$1.9M$2.0M7.51
2023-24$4.3M$2.4M$1.8M7.11
2024-25$5.0M$3.4M$1.5M7.68
2025-26$5.2M$4.0M$1.2M7.37
BrillionRegional peers (median)Wisconsin (median district)
11.309.988.677.356.042006-072010-112014-152018-192025-26

The median residential property-tax bill inside the district, all governments, was $3,428 in 2025 (statewide median $2,766). The full bill on the median home comes to 4.8% of median household income, and the school portion on that home ($221,100) is about $1,698.

Property tax on the median home, by taxing authority, payable 2026

A home at Brillion's median value, about $294,000 at the current assessment, owes roughly $4,740 in property tax for taxes payable 2026. The school district's part is $2,170 (42% before credits); the rest goes to the county, the city, village or town, the technical college district and special districts such as sanitary and lake districts, less the state's school levy tax credit. That bill is $790 more than the average regional peer's median home.

Taxing authorityBrillionRegional peers (average)
School district$2,170 42%$2,040 47%
Technical college$200 4%$170 4%
County$1,180 23%$1,050 24%
City, village or town$1,200 23%$850 20%
Special districts$420 8%$230 5%
State school levy tax credit−$430−$390
Total$4,740$3,950
Median home value$294,000$308,000

Each column is the tax on that district's own median home; peer columns average the districts in the group. The percentage is each authority's share of the bill before credits.

The same $294,000 home at each group's tax rates

Holding the house constant separates tax rates from home values. Taxed at Brillion's rates the home owes $4,740; at the regional peers' rates it would owe $3,800 on average.

Taxing authorityBrillionRegional peers (average)
School district$2,170 42%$1,960 47%
Technical college$200 4%$160 4%
County$1,180 23%$1,020 24%
City, village or town$1,200 23%$830 20%
Special districts$420 8%$200 5%
State school levy tax credit−$430−$370
Total$4,740$3,800
Tax as a share of home value1.61%1.29%

Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Town, Village and City Taxes, 2025 levies (taxes payable 2026): each taxing body's levy over the full value it is spread on. The school rate is the district's own levy over its equalized value; county, municipal, technical college and special-district rates are averages over the towns, villages and cities the district covers, weighted by its value in each, so a home in any one of them pays somewhat more or less. The school levy tax credit is the state-paid credit DOR spreads by municipality; the lottery and gaming credit and first dollar credit, applied per parcel, are not included. Median home value: Census ACS 2024 5-year median for owner-occupied homes, brought to January 1, 2025 values by the change in the district's TIF-out equalized value since 2022. The parcel-based median bill above runs lower because it covers every residential parcel, including vacant lots, condominiums and smaller homes, and is net of the per-parcel credits.

Levy by fund and equalized value: DPI and Department of Revenue. Typical bill: parcel-level residential bills inside the district boundary; school portion applies the school mill rate to the ACS median home value and is an estimate.

Voters have decided 15 referendum questions since 1997 and approved 7.

ElectionTypePurposeAmountYesResult
Apr 2026OperatingResolution to Exceed Revenue Cap Commencing with the 2026-2027 School Year (3YR)$6.8M43.4%Failed
Apr 2023OperatingResolution to Exceed Revenue Cap Commencing with the 2023-2024 School Year (3YR)$4.4M50.9%Passed
Apr 2018CapitalFor the purpose of paying the costs of improvements and renovations to the elementary/m...$5.6M61.6%Passed
Apr 2014CapitalFor the purpose of paying the cost of remodeling, renovation and addition projects at t...$3.0M59.0%Passed
Nov 2013CapitalFor the purpose of paying the cost of remodeling, renovation and addition projects at t...$5.3M48.7%Failed
Apr 2013CapitalTo pay the cost of remodeling, renovation and addition projects at the elementary and m...$5.3M47.3%Failed
Apr 2010Capitalcost of remodeling and renovation projects at the elementary and middle schools$4.5M57.5%Passed
Nov 2008Capitalconstructing and equipping a new K-8 elementary school and demolishing and removing the...$23.7M22.4%Failed
Feb 2007Capitalpaying the cost of remodeling, expanding and equipping the high school technology and e...$1.4M87.3%Passed
Sep 1999Capitalconstruct & equip auditorium at new h.s.$2.5M89.7%Passed
Feb 1999Capitalauditorium at high school$2.4M46.4%Failed
Nov 1998Capitalauditorium$2.4M48.6%Failed
Nov 1998Capitalnew high school$11.1M51.6%Passed
Mar 1998Capitalnew high school$13.7M40.2%Failed
May 1997Capitalbuilding renovation & additions$11.3M—Failed

DPI referenda file, 1993 onward.

95% of Brillion's teachers stayed in the district into 2025-26, against 91% for the median regional peer and 91% statewide; 0% left Wisconsin public schools. Average teacher salary was $65,266, against $61,760 for the median peer and $61,273 statewide.

BrillionRegional peers (median)Wisconsin (median district)
98%95%92%88%85%2016-172018-192020-212022-232024-25

Staff by role, 2016-17 to 2025-26

RoleHeadcount, firstHeadcount, lastChangePeer median change
Administrators57+40%+15%
Teachers7176+7%+5%
Aides/Paraprofessionals2721−22%+7%
Pupil Services76−14%+17%
Other6046−23%+1%

DPI All Staff files: distinct people by role. Peer median change across the regional peers.

DPI All Staff files, person-level, linked year to year.

Wherever this briefing sets Brillion beside other districts, it uses the group below. A group figure is the middle value across its members (the property-tax tables on the median home use the average instead), each counted equally, so one large member cannot dominate it.

Regional peers 12 districts

The 12 Wisconsin districts of the same type most like Brillion on four measures: distance and CESA (30% of the weight), total cost per member (30%), the Census child poverty rate (25%) and locale, meaning city, suburb, town or rural (15%). Districts under 400 students are not eligible.

DistrictCountyCESALocaleMiles awayEnrollmentCost per member
HilbertCalumet07Rural6472$17,313
ReedsvilleManitowoc07Rural8670$16,534
Wrightstown CommunityBrown07Town91,373$15,504
ChiltonCalumet07Rural121,070$17,265
Valders AreaManitowoc07Rural13962$18,374
DenmarkBrown07Rural171,511$16,487
Kiel AreaManitowoc07Town191,226$18,035
ManitowocManitowoc07Town195,108$16,943
Two Rivers PublicManitowoc07Town251,714$16,804
Seymour CommunityOutagamie07Town261,962$17,978
KewauneeKewaunee07Town29955$18,228
Plymouth JointSheboygan07Town322,107$16,905

“Wisconsin median” is the middle value across Wisconsin districts; property-tax and revenue-limit comparisons use K-12 districts only, because elementary and union high school districts overlap the same territory.