Elkhorn Area School District vs Vicksburg Community Schools
WI · 3,506 students • MI · 2,560 students • fiscal year 2024 • swap sides
In one line
- Elkhorn Area School District and Vicksburg Community Schools spend within 2% of each other per student once local price levels are accounted for.
- Both direct a similar share of each operating dollar to classrooms.
- Elkhorn Area School District is far more dependent on local property taxes (47% of revenue vs 29%), which ties its budget more tightly to local property values.
Are these even comparable?
Establish the shape of each district before reading a single dollar figure.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 3,506 | 2,560 |
| Schools | 7 | 6 |
| Grades served | PK–12 | PK–12 |
| Setting | Town | Suburb |
| County | Walworth County | Kalamazoo County |
| State | WI | MI |
| Local price level (US = 100) Above 100 means a dollar buys less here than the national average. | 94.1 | 94.8 |
The headline dollar
Current operating spending per student, shown three ways. The first is what each district reports. The second and third are the honest ones for comparison.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Per student, as reported | $14,531 | $14,625 |
| Per student, price-adjusted Divided by the local price level, so both figures are in the same money. | $15,443 | $15,421 |
| Per student, price-adjusted, excluding transport Transportation provision varies enormously between districts and states. Removing it compares the parts both districts actually do. | $14,623 | $14,662 |
| Capital spending per student Buildings and land, never folded into the operating figures above. It is lumpy: a district mid-build looks expensive for two years. | Locked | Locked |
Elkhorn Area School District
Vicksburg Community Schools
Where the money comes from
The funding mix determines how exposed a district is to local property values, to state politics, and to federal programmes ending.
Elkhorn Area School District
- Local 46.9% Locked
- State 45.9% Locked
- Federal 7.1% Locked
Vicksburg Community Schools
- Local 29.0% Locked
- State 67.0% Locked
- Federal 4.0% Locked
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Local share of revenue Mostly property tax. A high share means school budgets track local property values, up and down. | 46.9% | 29.0% |
| State share of revenue | 45.9% | 67.0% |
| Federal share of revenue | 7.1% | 4.0% |
| Total revenue | Locked | Locked |
How WI funds its districts
We have not yet written up WI's funding formula, so nothing is claimed here.
How MI funds its districts
Proposal A foundation allowance: a per-pupil grant largely funded by the state, with limited local enhancement.
Where the money goes
The same slices in the same order for both districts, plus the differences by function — because two pie charts side by side hide exactly the thing you want to see.
Elkhorn Area School District
- Instruction 57.3% Locked
- Instructional staff support 5.8% Locked
- Student support 5.3% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 8.5% Locked
- Transportation 5.3% Locked
- Food service 8.5% Locked
- School administration 5.7% Locked
- District administration 1.3% Locked
- Other support 2.2% Locked
- Other current 8.5% Locked
Vicksburg Community Schools
- Instruction 58.8% Locked
- Instructional staff support 3.8% Locked
- Student support 6.7% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 7.6% Locked
- Transportation 4.9% Locked
- Food service 4.4% Locked
- School administration 5.6% Locked
- District administration 1.8% Locked
- Other support 6.4% Locked
- Other current 4.4% Locked
What is actually different
Share of each district's operating dollar, Elkhorn Area School District minus Vicksburg Community Schools. Two pie charts side by side are almost impossible to read against each other; this is the same data as one chart.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Cents of each operating dollar reaching classrooms Instruction plus instructional staff support, as a share of current spending. | 63.1% | 62.6% |
| Administration share District office plus school administration. | 7.0% | 7.5% |
| Transportation share | 5.3% | 4.9% |
What the money buys
Staffing levels are the most direct thing a budget converts into.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher This is a staffing ratio: total enrollment divided by teaching staff. It is NOT average class size. Actual classes are larger than this number in every district. | 15.8 | 16.3 |
| Students per counselor | Locked | Locked |
| Students per administrator | Locked | Locked |
| Total salaries All staff, not teachers alone. | Locked | Locked |
Who they serve
The answer to "but they serve different kids" — which is usually a fair objection.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Child poverty rate Children aged 5 to 17 in poverty within the district boundary. Used instead of free-lunch eligibility, which community eligibility has made unusable for comparison. | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| English learners | — | — |
| Students with disabilities | — | — |
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -1.7% | -3.1% |
Results, and results for the money
Stability and risk
The homebuyer’s real question: what is likely to change after I move in?
Elkhorn Area School District
- High debt burden More than 10% of total spending goes to interest and debt retirement, money that cannot reach a classroom.
Vicksburg Community Schools
No stability flags raised.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -1.7% | -3.1% |
| Long-term debt per student | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service share of spending | Locked | Locked |
Enrolling a child
The same checklist for both districts. Every "required" below links to the sentence it came from.
Elkhorn Area School District
New Student Enrollment | Elkhorn Area School District
Almost nothing could be read off this page — usually a portal that builds its content in the browser. Treat the column below as "we could not tell", and open the district's page yourself.
Read August 23, 2026.
Vicksburg Community Schools
Enrollment - Our District - Vicksburg Community Schools
Registration runs through Skyward. Read August 23, 2026.
Is a seat at your zoned school guaranteed?
Elkhorn Area School District
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
Vicksburg Community Schools
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
- This is the district’s own published wording, not our summary of it. Policies are rewritten between enrollment seasons and a page can be out of date the day after we read it — the school office is the only authority on whether a particular grade at a particular school is full right now.
- A warning here is about capacity, not about your address. It does not mean your child will be moved; it means the district has told you in writing that it may move them.
- Required the page says so, and the sentence is quoted.
- Mentioned only it comes up, but not as a requirement — often a sentence saying the district cannot demand it.
- Not mentioned we read the page and it was not on it. That is not the same as "not required".
- Page not read we have no enrollment page for this district.
Documents to bring
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of residency | Not mentioned | Required “Proof of Residency – Recently dated gas, electric, trash, water, or utility bill;” |
| Proof of age (usually a birth certificate) | Not mentioned | Required “Parent/Guardian Photo ID Birth Certificate – Original may still need to be verified in person this fall.” |
| Immunisation records | Not mentioned | Required “Immunization Records Hearing/Vision Screenings – Kindergarten only.” |
| Physical examination | Not mentioned | Required “Oral Health Assessment (NEW for 2025-2026 school year)-- Kindergarten only.” |
| Dental, vision or hearing screening | Not mentioned | Required “Immunization Records Hearing/Vision Screenings – Kindergarten only.” |
| Tuberculosis test | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Records from the previous school | Not mentioned | Required “Health Appraisal Current Transcript – High School students only.” |
| IEP or 504 plan | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Custody or guardianship paperwork | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Parent or guardian photo ID | Not mentioned | Required “Parent/Guardian Photo ID Birth Certificate – Original may still need to be verified in person this fall.” |
| Home language survey | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Emergency contact information | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Proof of income | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Social security number Asked for by some districts. It is not required to enrol, and a school may not refuse a child who does not provide one. We list it because districts ask, not because you must answer. | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
How enrolling works
Locked 11 steps of the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments, proof of residency — are not shown. What to bring is above, and stays free.
- A blank row means the requirement did not appear on the district’s page. It does not mean the district will not ask for it — published lists are routinely incomplete, and the registrar has the final word.
- Requirements change every enrollment season. Check the district’s own page, linked above, before you gather anything.
- A district cannot condition enrollment on your child’s immigration status: under Plyler v. Doe (1982) every child resident in the district is entitled to a free public education. If a district asks for something that would reveal status, you are not obliged to provide it.
- If your family is in temporary or shared housing, the McKinney-Vento Act lets a child enrol immediately without the residency and records documents listed here. Ask for the district’s homeless liaison by name.
Comparability notes
- Cross-state comparison. Dollars below are shown both as reported and adjusted to a common price level, because a dollar buys different amounts of teacher in WI and MI.
- At least one district sits outside a metro area with its own published price index, so its cost adjustment uses the statewide index. That is a coarser adjustment.
What these numbers are, exactly
Who decides, and what it costs you
Every band above this one asks what a district spends. This one asks who chose to.
Elkhorn Area School District
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
Vicksburg Community Schools
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
| Elkhorn Area School District | Vicksburg Community Schools | |
|---|---|---|
| School property tax levied, per student Only for districts that levy in their own name. Blank where the county or town levies instead — see the cards above, and read the next row. | $5,030 | $2,848 |
| Appropriated by the county or town, per student What the parent government handed the schools, for dependent systems. This is a general appropriation, not solely property tax. | — | — |
| Property tax as a share of all revenue How much of the budget rides on local property values, and therefore on local votes. | 29.5% | 15.8% |
| Long-term debt already owed, per student The balance at the end of the year, for scale. Repaid over decades, so it is a commitment made by earlier boards rather than a bill arriving now. | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service as a share of spending Interest plus principal repaid this year, against total spending. This is the part of the debt that is being paid now, out of money that would otherwise reach a classroom. | Locked | Locked |
| New long-term debt issued, per student Money borrowed during fiscal year 2024. What this figure does and does not tell you is set out under the table. | $0 | $3,765 |
- Elkhorn Area School District: issued no new long-term debt in fiscal year 2024. That is a reported zero, not a gap in the data.
- A figure in the borrowing row is not a bond voters approved. It records debt issued, and that includes refinancing existing debt at a new rate — which changes nothing about what a district owes — as well as certificates of participation and lease-revenue debt, which in many states a board can issue with no referendum at all. To find out what was actually on a ballot, check the county election office.
- Debt is repaid over decades. A large balance per student is a commitment made by earlier boards and earlier voters, not a bill arriving this year. The debt service row above it is the part being paid now.
Who sits on the board
Elkhorn Area School District board of education
- Adam Andre — President
- Ed Scaro — Vice President
- Heather Recklies — Clerk
- Kathy Kostock — Treasurer
- Julia Ingersoll — Member
- Bridget Vaughn — Member
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-24. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Vicksburg Community Schools board of education
- David Schriemer — President
- Ron Centofanti — Vice President
- Stephanie Willoughby
- Christina Forsyth
- Jamie Buikema
- Lisa Hostetler
- Professional Background
- Lucas Hillard
6 of these are listed on the page without an office. It names them among the board without saying which office they hold, so none is shown for them. It is not a vacancy.
- A seat is vacant or being filled: “He was voted to the board to fill a vacancy in November 2025.”
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-24. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Funding measures on the ballot
Elkhorn Area School District
$93.8M approved by voters across 10 measures. A further $500K a year added to what the district may collect, across 2 measures.
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-01 | Operating levy collected 2025–2028BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Elkhorn Area School District, Walworth County, Wisconsin that the revenues included in the School District b…BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Elkhorn Area School District, Walworth County, Wisconsin that the revenues included in the School District budget be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $4,000,000 per year for four years, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year and ending with the 2028-2029 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of expenses related to maintaining current instructional programs and class sizes, staffing, ongoing safety, and facility maintenance. |
$16M | 45.9% | Failed |
Locked 18 earlier measures in this district’s history are not shown.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2026-11-03.
What this state publishes: School district referenda only — the debt and revenue-limit questions a district must ask before it can borrow or spend beyond its state limit. County, city and technical-college questions on the same ballot are not in this report. A recurring referendum's amount is a yearly rise in what the district may collect and has no end date; every other amount here is a one-off sum, as DPI recorded it.
Vicksburg Community Schools
This district appears in none of what we read from MI’s source in its current ballot window (2026).
What this state publishes: Michigan's Voter Information Center publishes sample ballots, not results. Every question here is the text voters were given; the Secretary of State's ballot preview records no vote counts and no outcome, so nothing on this page says whether a Michigan measure passed. The preview also carries only the elections in its current window — recent and upcoming — so a Michigan district's older bonds and millages are not here. And one precinct is read per township or city: where a township is split between school districts, a question that appeared only in another precinct of that township is not here either. A Michigan district with no rows has not necessarily left its taxpayers alone.
- A vote share is not an outcome. What it takes to carry varies by state and by measure — in some states a bond needs a supermajority and a minimum turnout while a levy on the same ballot needs half, so a clear majority can still lose. Every outcome shown here is copied from the state’s own election file, and the rule that applied is stated with the coverage above. Where that file stated no outcome we show whatever count it published and no verdict, rather than working one out from the percentage — and some states publish the ballot question without ever recording a count, so a blank there is a number nobody printed.
- These are the measures a district put to its voters, not its whole tax bill. A property tax bill also carries county, city and state levies that have nothing to do with schools, and in most states a school board can issue some kinds of debt with no vote at all.
The detailed figures for Elkhorn Area School District and Vicksburg Community Schools
The verdict, the headline dollar, the funding shares, who is served and every comparability caveat are free above, and stay free. What is behind the lock is the detail you would want before acting on any of it:
- capital spending per student
- total revenue and total current spending, and the funding mix in dollars (the percentage shares stay free)
- the ten-line per-student breakdown of where the money goes
- counselor and administrator ratios, and the total salary bill
- the debt behind the risk flags — per student, and as a share of spending
- the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments and proof of residency
- the full ballot history: 18 more bonds and levies, with the amounts
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Compare something else
Elkhorn Area School District on its own · Vicksburg Community Schools on its own