Senator Jeff Smith

06/19/2026

This week, the Juneteenth flag was raised at the Capitol – honoring June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in this country finally learned they were free when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Freedom delayed is still freedom denied, and our work in the Chippewa Valley and across Wisconsin is to keep building a state where everyone truly belongs. I'm grateful to the WI Legislative Black Caucus everyone who took part in honoring this history.

06/18/2026

Title: State Sen. Jeff Smith talks about manufactured housing bill

By Matthew Baughman Leader-Telegram staff Jun 17, 2026 Updated 9 hrs ago

EAU CLAIRE — A bill in the Wisconsin legislature looks to address housing affordability and safety in manufactured home communities.

Senate Bill 1027, introduced by several Democratic senators including Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick), aims to make a number of changes regarding mobile or manufactured home communities.

“We currently don’t have any rules or laws that protect them in those places. And the further away you get from the actual park as far as ownership, the less likely the residents there get the services that they need,” Smith said. “It’s certainly been what I’ve learned from meetings I’ve had with people in Dunn County, and Eau Claire County as well, who live in parks.”

Smith said the first thing which the bill does is protect residents from “surprise billing”, ensuring that the owner of a mobile or manufactured home community provides notice before selling or changing its use.

Furthermore, written notice has to be given at least 12 months before closing a community. Owners would also be prohibited from increasing rent, fees, service charges or assessments for any 12-month period unless notice is given at least 90 days prior.

Smith said, “Residents there almost always own the housing, but they rent the land. And it can be an awkward situation of rental and ownership.

“When it comes down to it, the residents have three choices. If, for instance, the rent is jacked up and they can’t afford it anymore or they’re being evicted, they either have to move their manufactured home — which is nearly impossible these days — sell it as it is or just walk away from it, which happens too often. And so, we need to give them options that actually work for them.”

In addition to protecting ownership, the bill also requires that every lease indicates where an emergency shelter can be found. Community owners must also develop a plan for evacuating community residents in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.

The Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) will also be required to annually inspect manufactured home communities.

Earlier in June, Smith met with residents from Hillcrest Estates and Villa Diann in Altoona.

Smith said the concept of manufactured or mobile homes is much different than what people might have thought of them 40 years ago, with these structures being more often set on foundations with running water and septic systems.

“We need to be sure that people are protected under all circumstances,” he said.

Although the bill did not make it to the floor in this last session, Smith said their hope is to reintroduce it early on in the next session.

“That’s why I’m having these hearings now,” he said. “I want residents to be aware that this is a possibility and they should also become advocates in contacting their legislatures and explaining and describing the issues that they have are real and why this is necessary. Any legislation needs that sort of advocacy for it to move, and hopefully that’s what will happen.”

This discussion on manufactured homes comes as a general election approaches this fall.

Smith currently seeks reelection as an incumbent member of Wisconsin State Senate District 31, which encompasses all of Eau Claire County and parts of neighboring counties including communities such as Menomonie, Chippewa Falls, Cadott and Osseo.

Michele Magadance Skinner is named as a Republican candidate running for election in the same district.

A general election will occur on Nov. 3.

EAU CLAIRE — A bill in the Wisconsin legislature looks to address housing affordability and safety in manufactured home communities.

06/16/2026

Childcare Bridge Payments are set to expire at the end of June and the impacts are going to be felt by every family with children in childcare. Not only will the cost of childcare increase, which is already averaging close to $18,000 annually, but according to a UW-Madison survey last year, as many as 25% of child care facilities said they are at risk of closing without this support. Look for more from me on this issue in the coming weeks.

Paula Drew: "For years on end, childcare providers have depended on this funding to meet the gap between what parents can pay and the actual cost to provide high quality childcare.... When you think about 25% of group providers (closing), that's a really significant amount of childcare seat available in the state right now... Group programs can serve hundreds of children, so when you say 25%, it's not just like (25%) across the board of how many seats we have, I think it will be really stark and I would also estimate that this number will be larger than it was when the research was done."

https://www.pbs.org/video/paula-drew-on-child-care-bridge-payments-ending-in-wisconsin-3zizw4/




PBS Wisconsin

Paula Drew on anticipated impacts of the expiration of Child Care Bridge Payments.

06/10/2026

As this PBS Wisconsin report points out - we must fix our failing school funding formula. For starters, it's time to reinstate per-pupil funding increases tied to inflation which ended in 2009. School districts across the state simply cannot break even when they automatically lose money to inflationary increases across the board that are completely out of their control.

06/10/2026

“This is like the last vestige of affordable housing for many people, and to take that away from them leaves them with no other options at all,” said Smith.

https://www.weau.com/2026/06/10/state-sen-jeff-smith-looks-protect-affordable-housing/

State Senator Jeff Smith took a visit to Altoona City Park to talk about protections for affordable housing.

06/09/2026

I'll be hosting a townhall event tonight at 6:30 PM at the Fish House in Altoona Park (418 9th St W, Altoona, WI 54720) to hear directly from residents who live in manufactured home communities. I'll be taking their feedback into consideration when I reintroduce Senate Bill 1027 during the next legislative session.

Click here to read SB1027: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/sb1027

‘When people work together cooperatively, they win’:
Why there’s a push to keep manufactured homes affordable in Wisconsin Democratic Politics and Policy

BY Anthony DaBruzzi Wisconsin
PUBLISHED 5:45 PM ET Jun. 08, 2026

ALTOONA, Wis. — For some Wisconsinites, manufactured or mobile homes might be one of the last ways they can live affordably.

However, in recent years, private equity firms have begun buying up those types of living communities, with some raising lot rent and neglecting needed maintenance. Others have gone so far as to evict everyone living there.

What You Need To Know
In recent years, private equity firms have begun buying up manufactured home communities, with some raising lot rent and neglecting needed maintenance

While many residents living in those types of communities own their homes, they often rent the land on which they sit

In February, State Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, introduced legislation that would give residents the right to buy the park when third-party offers are made to the owner, as well as require rent increase notices and limits

The legislation did not advance this year; however, Smith hopes to improve his proposal by hosting a manufactured home affordability town hall on Tuesday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. inside the Fish House located at Altoona City Park
In manufactured home parks, many residents own their homes but rent the land on which they sit. For people with that type of living situation, Wisconsin doesn’t have any protections in place for them.

Steve Parliament serves as treasurer of the Wisconsin Manufactured Home Owners Alliance. Back in 2005, he helped a manufactured home community in Cumberland, Wis., become the first in the state to convert to a cooperative.

“When people decide to do something together, they're very strong,” Parliament explained. “And that's ultimately what local politics is about.”

Today, that community is known as Countryside Park Co-Op.

“This is now owned as a co-op together by the residents,” Parliament added. “Each resident still owns their individual manufactured home, but together as a co-op they own the land.”

Parliament hopes he can help do that again with two parks in the Menomonie, Wis. area. The goal is to fend off sales to private equity firms, which sometimes have taken advantage of those who rely on affordable housing.

“All of a sudden their rent has gone up, or they've suddenly had to pay for a spot to park the car that they did not have to pay for before, or there's a weather issue, and they have nowhere to go,” State Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, said.

Earlier this year, Smith introduced a bill that would give residents the right to buy the park when third-party offers are made to the owner. The bill included provisions for rent increase notices and limits, as well as added tax incentives for parks owned by a resident association.

It would have also put other regulations in place for mobile home park communities, such as safety and evacuation plans.

“It's also, to some degree, the last vestige of affordable housing,” Smith added. “And it's becoming less so because it's been discovered by investors that this is an easy way to invest and then take advantage of people who really, actually need a little help to make sure that they are not homeless.”

Many of those types of homes cannot be moved, at least not easily, due to either expensive transportation costs or a lack of structural integrity. Both Parliament and Smith told Spectrum News that it often leaves residents with only three options: stay in their home, abandon it on the plot, or attempt to sell their home.

With so few choices, both believe that making it easier to form a co-op could be the answer.

“You own the house, and you own the land,” Parliament said. “And I think that's what home ownership means in America.”

Smith’s bill didn’t make much progress this year under the Republican-controlled legislature. He hopes to now find new ways to make the bill better and draft legislation for the next legislative session.

“We're holding a town hall on this issue, specifically targeted to the people who are affected by this,” Smith said. “We're hoping to draw them to this town hall to give us their firsthand experiences that they have felt while living in a manufactured housing community.”

Smith hopes to hear from manufactured home community residents living in the Chippewa Valley, including those from Hillcrest Estates and Villa Diann. If you would like to attend, the event will be held on Tuesday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. inside the Fish House at Altoona City Park.

For more information about manufactured home parks and financial support, you can contact the Wisconsin Housing Alliance. To file a complaint, you can visit the state’s Dept. of Safety and Professional Services or the DATCP Bureau of Consumer Protection.

https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2026/06/08/keeping-manufactured-homes-affordable-in-wisconsin

In manufactured home parks, many residents own their homes but rent the land on which they sit.

05/29/2026

Hi folks, Senator Jeff Smith here – your Chippewa Valley Senator. I’m sad to say, due to State Senate policy, this will have to be my last Checking in for the Chippewa Valley video until after the election this fall.

Now, the good news. We’ve just finished our three part series on the impacts of the private voucher school program on our local public schools. Our deep dive into the voucher school system and our interactive map are helpful for understanding how voucher schools are bleeding our public schools dry.

Follow the links for each of the three-part series to learn more. Especially noteworthy is an interactive map highlighting the cost of the voucher school program in every corner of the state. It clearly shows how school referendums are trying to make up the difference for the loss of critical resources spent on the voucher programs.

We have so much to do to help public schools keep up with the true cost of education. Everyone is feeling the pinch of this economy, schools are feeling it too. As we approach summer, my hope is for a renewed effort to fulfill our promise for increasing special education funding.

What’s most important of all is fixing our failed funding formula. We’ve ignored fundamental flaws and continue to put Band-Aids on a broken system for too long. We need real change and long-term solutions for education, not a second unaccountable school system siphoning off funding from our public schools.

I wish you a great summer, we will be back in November after the election to keep you informed about what’s happening in the Chippewa Valley. Until then, keep in touch and enjoy the summer! This is Senator Jeff Smith, signing off.

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Click here to see the new 3-part interactive map series: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dd565f8bd67241058f566d19c49fad25/page/Part-1%3A-Private-School-Funding

05/22/2026

Hi Folks, this is Senator Jeff Smith - your Chippewa Valley Senator, back with the third and final part in my series on Wisconsin’s four private school voucher programs and their impacts on our public school districts across Wisconsin.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve documented how Wisconsin spent nearly $700 million on private school vouchers last year – money that came directly from our public school funding and your local property tax dollars.

This week, we’re examining what happens to those financially-starved public schools when they must turn to voters for help, which in most cases is a last resort before considering more dire options. Several stories have detailed the results of the April referendums, specifically from Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Watch and locally in Eau Claire with Volume One, just to name a few.

The map for this series below has been updated to show results of each referendum statewide, the data for which you may also find here. On April 7th, 73 school districts across Wisconsin asked voters: Will you increase your property taxes to keep our schools running? The total ask statewide was over $1 billion.

The result:
• 46 referendums passed (61%)
• 29 referendums failed (39%)
• $564 million in property tax increases approved
• $436 million in requests denied

Those numbers tell a story of communities stretched to their breaking point. Voters approved more than half a billion dollars in property tax increases – but still said no to nearly 40% of requests.

While it might sound reassuring that 61% of our referendums passed in April, it’s important to understand what it means for some of the 29 school districts that failed to pass their ballot measures.

While news of districts consolidating or dissolving is rare, school districts that fail to pass referendums to stay open may have no other choice but to close altogether.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS AT RISK
Augusta School District - Their first operating referendum since 2001 for a total of $375,000 a year over two years failed 693 to 550. As a result, the district will make cuts to its staff and some programming beginning next spring. Augusta Area School District Administrator, Reed Pecha, recently told Wisconsin Watch, “We are reducing staff and trying to absorb positions as people have resigned, but we don’t have a lot more to cut.”

Hustisford School District – This was their 5th consecutive referendum failure since 2021. The district is now pursuing dissolution. Interim Superintendent Todd Bugnacki said the failed vote “created a perilous situation for the future of our school district and the community.”

Siren School District – Their referendum failed by 88 votes. District officials say dissolution is now on the table if they can’t pass another one in the fall.

Winter School District – Failed 60-40. Superintendent Craig Olson is already planning to ask voters again this November. Without it, consolidation or dissolution are the only options.

Shell Lake School District – This one actually passed, but barely – by just 2 votes. It was their third attempt after failures in November 2024 and April 2025. Posts by the district warned that cuts to staff, classes and activities would be needed if it failed again.

Butternut School District – Passed by a single vote. One vote determined whether this rural northern Wisconsin district continues to operate.

These aren’t just statistics. These are communities watching their schools – which are the very heart of their towns – fighting to stay alive.

THE IMPOSSIBLE MARGINS
In total, 18 of the 75 referendums were decided by fewer than 88 votes. Think about that: the future of entire school districts – hundreds of students, dozens of teachers, decades of community investment – came down to whether nearly 100 people showed up to vote.

For these communities, every single vote mattered. And for those that lost, every single vote represents a teacher position eliminated, a program cut or a building that won’t be maintained.

For districts that passed referendums, it’s only a temporary reprieve. Most operational referendums last 3-4 years. When they expire, districts will be right back at the ballot asking voters again – unless the state steps up with adequate funding.

UNREIMBURSED SPECIAL EDUCATION DRIVES THE NEED FOR REFERENDUMS
Furthermore, unreimbursed special education expenses make up large portions of the money needed in these operational levies. By next year, reimbursement to public schools for special education is supposed to be 45%, but since the demand for these services has increased unexpectedly, the reimbursed amount will end up being closer to 35%.

This happened because of the way Republicans drafted the budget. Republicans approved a fixed sum of money to spend rather than funding the actual percentage of the cost to for special education – it’s like going to the store with a $20 bill to try to buy something you need, but you end up short at the checkout counter. Instead, if you need that item, you should bring the proper amount of money that is necessary. It has essentially short-changed our public school districts.

Reimbursement for Special Education to public schools used to be as high as 66% in 1980 and dropped to as low as 31% a few years ago.

While we won't have the data for this past year until the end June, in the 2024-25 school year, unreimbursed special education costs alone made up 64% of the annual dollars sought for operating referendums across the state. This is a major driver fueling the need for additional property taxes locally to make up the difference.

Together, with the ever-increasing costs of our four voucher programs totaling $700 million, 65% of unreimbursed special education costs and a broken funding formula that underpins the entire need for referendum money in the first place – this should paint a clear portrait of the nearly insurmountable problems facing Wisconsin’s 421 public school district administrators and their respective school boards.

Our district administrators not only have to juggle the needs of principals, school board members and PTA members across their district – they are forced to ask each and every property taxpayer to dig deeper to make ends meet – and in some cases, they need that money just to keep their doors open.
Wisconsin has a constitutional obligation to provide a free and equitable education for all children. The legislature is failing in that obligation. School districts living or dying by referendum do not meet our obligation or the needs of our children.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY
Wisconsin Republicans lack the will to fix this problem, which is why we need a new majority. Every school district that asked voters for money in April was really asking: “Will you pay for what the state should have funded in the first place?”

Every failed referendum is a community saying: “We can’t afford this anymore – and we shouldn’t have to.” It’s time for the state to do its full part.
And every school that closes or consolidates is a failure of the state to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a quality education for every Wisconsin child.

Our children deserve better. Our communities deserve better. Taxpayers deserve a state government that prioritizes public education over private school subsidies.

Click here to view the interactive map:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dd565f8bd67241058f566d19c49fad25/page/Part-3%3A-April-2026-Referendum-Results?draft=true =id%3AdataSource_5-19dbfd1b9b1-layer-5%3A3

05/15/2026

Hi Folks, this is Senator Jeff Smith – your Chippewa Valley State Senator, back with Part 2 of our series on private school voucher programs.

Last week, I explored the history and mechanics of Wisconsin’s four voucher programs: Milwaukee, Racine and Wisconsin Parental Choice Programs, and the Special Needs Scholarship Program. Last year alone, these four programs sent $700 million in taxpayer funding to 415 private schools across the state.

This week, we’re following the money in the other direction: How much did YOUR public school district lose to pay for those private school vouchers?

You might want to take a seat, because the answer is staggering.

THE $699.2 MILLION DRAIN

In the 2025-26 school year, Wisconsin’s 421 public school districts lost $699.2 MILLION to private school voucher programs. They did this in two ways:

· $341.7 million was paid first to Milwaukee private schools through the MPCP program (funded by state General Purpose Revenue (GPR), which is paid to voucher schools first and the remainder goes to public schools. ).

· After that, $357.5 million was taken away from individual public school districts statewide to fund the statewide, Racine and Special Needs voucher programs respectively.

In total, that’s nearly $700 million that should have gone to public schools – to hire teachers, reduce class sizes, update textbooks, maintain buildings and provide services to students. Instead, it was redirected to private schools.

The map (at the link) below shows exactly how much each school district in Wisconsin lost to voucher programs last year. It also shows all of the private schools that received those payments. In almost every district, you can see that the amount each public school district lost was nearly the same as the total each private school received in their area.

Click here to view the map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dd565f8bd67241058f566d19c49fad25

And here’s the key difference:

The cost of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), which is $336.2 million, comes directly from the state’s general fund (GPR is funded with your income and sales taxes, not property taxes). As a result, it doesn’t result in higher property taxes for the residents of Milwaukee. However, each school district loses funding for the private voucher schools in Milwaukee.

How about the other $357.5 million? That comes directly out of the budget from each of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts separately. When a child uses a private school voucher, their hometown’s public school district loses that money directly from the state aid they receive. To make up for these losses, each school district can increase their levy.

YOUR PROPERTY TAXES INCREASE TO PAY FOR VOUCHER SCHOOL

The continual handout to private schools and freezing revenue limits leaves schools with no other option than to increase their levy to pay for the lost revenue from these private voucher school handouts.

When Eau Claire School District lost $2.5 million to vouchers, property taxes increased by $2.5 million to backfill that loss. They don’t get that money until the next tax year, so this creates an undue burden on them to constantly chase their own tail to find this extra money.

When Chippewa Falls lost $2.1 million, their property taxes paid the bill. When Menomonie lost $1.2 million, property taxpayers paid the bill.

Unlike school referendums, which require voter approval, these levy increases happen automatically. Most taxpayers have no idea their property taxes are going up specifically to replace money that went to private schools.

THE IMPACT IN THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY

-Eau Claire Area School District lost $2,503,884 to voucher programs
-Chippewa Falls Area School District lost $2,167,710 to voucher programs
-Menomonie Area School District lost $1,204,325 to voucher programs

Combined, the three largest Chippewa Valley school districts lost nearly $6 MILLION in a single year to fund private school vouchers.

What could $6 million fund in our public schools?

-Approximately 75 full-time teachers (at $80,000/year with benefits)
-Technology upgrades for every classroom
-New textbooks and materials
-Expanded special education services
-After-school programs and tutoring
-Building maintenance and repairs that have been deferred for years

Instead, that money went to private schools – many of which are not required to accept all students, follow the same curriculum standards or meet the same accountability measures as public schools.

THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Option 1: Absorb the loss
-Cut teachers, programs, and services
-Increase class sizes
-Defer maintenance
-Eliminate extracurriculars

Option 2: Ask voters for more money via referendum
-Try to restore cuts AND fund improvements
-Risk voter rejection (39% of all referendums up for a vote in Wisconsin failed last month)

Neither of these options are good for kids and families. All of them put the burden on public schools and local taxpayers to make up for poor decisions made by Republicans in Madison. They have underfunded our schools and used taxpayer money for unaccountable private voucher schools for years.

NEXT WEEK: THE REFERENDUM CRISIS

Last month, school districts across Wisconsin asked voters to approve over $1 billion in additional property taxes through referendums. Just over half passed – meaning 39% failed, leaving those districts facing deep cuts and uncertain futures. The trend continues downward for school districts, especially as costs are soaring and property taxpayers feel the squeeze.

Together, these three parts – the $336 million to Milwaukee, the $358 million lost by public districts, and the $1 billion in referendums – paint a complete picture of how Wisconsin’s voucher programs are systematically underfunding public education while taxpayers foot the bill.

Next week, I’ll examine those referendum results and show you which districts were forced to ask voters for help after losing millions to voucher programs and unreimbursed special education costs.

05/14/2026

My sincere thanks go to all of the South Middle School students and their teachers and chaperones for visiting with me during their tour of the Capitol this week. It was great getting to tell them about the importance of their state government. Thanks for being so engaged!