Strong Schools - Strong Communities
Celebrating Innovation and Resilience!
2026 WiRSA Pre-Conference!
Anne K. Chapman | Research Director
Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO)
Session description: When enrollment trends shift, districts must adapt their strategy, and the state plays a pivotal role in setting them up for success. This session will explore how state policy fosters the conditions that help districts sustainably adapt to the financial, staffing, programming, and facility impacts of declining enrollment. Attendees will be invited to share their own experiences and challenges, and discussion will highlight key questions for school district teams to consider as they navigate those challenges. Come away with insights to understand population trends, communicate implications, proactively advocate to policymakers, and make strategic decisions that center the educational opportunity of students while positioning their district for long-term sustainability.
As research director at the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials, Anne Chapman leads WASBO’s mission to ensure equity and outstanding educational opportunities for Wisconsin students through nonpartisan policy research, analysis, and advocacy. Her research on K-12 education focuses on general state and local policy and finance, school referendums, special education funding, the educator workforce, school choice, enrollment trends, and other topics.
Prior to joining WASBO, Chapman served as senior researcher at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and as a legislative program analyst with the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau. Chapman holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, La Follette School of Public Affairs. She is a member of the Association for School Business Officials International where she also serves as policy expert on ASBO’s Federal Advocacy Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and Association for Education Finance and Policy.