Governor McCallum ended the long, frustrating budget adjustment process by signing the Budget Adjustment Bill into law on Friday, July 26. The Governor used his extensive partial veto authority in 72 instances to reshape the bill. The Legislature now has the opportunity to review and override any of the Governor’s vetoes. However, legislative leaders have given no indication that such an attempt is forthcoming.

The final plan is a major victory for the SAA and for public education in Wisconsin. The budget adjustment continues current law on the revenue limit per pupil increase ($230.67 per pupil increase), and it does not include any provisions to change the QEO or teacher prep time. These were the SAA’s top priorities during the budget adjustment negotiations.

The SAA’s position (current law) also prevailed on the proposed changes in the scheduling of local government referenda. Although our positions on special education funding increases, SAGE flexibility and accountability for the Milwaukee Parental Choice program did not prevail, the outcome was expected. The Legislature’s action on the proposed virtual charter school moratorium (continuation of current law) allows the Appleton School District to move forward with its plans.

Two of the Governor’s vetoes are noteworthy for public education. First, the Governor vetoed the transfer of the TEACH program to DPI. It will remain a separate agency. The Governor also used his veto pen to limit the new requirement that schools with exclusive soft drink contracts make milk available “whenever and wherever” soft drinks are available. The Governor’s veto, which removes the “whenever and wherever” language, limits this requirement to the school day only. Please note, this requirement only applies to districts with exclusive contracts for soft drinks.

In the end, this Budget Adjustment Bill is a huge victory for SAA members. While we are justified in savoring this victory, the fiscal and political problems posed by the next biennial budget process loom large. Preliminary estimates from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau indicate that, to fund current commitments, the State will require an additional $1.34 billion in 2003-04 and $1.527 billion in 2004-05. These figures do not take into account any increases in state revenues (due to economic growth) for the next two years. Nonetheless, the budget gap that lawmakers face in January will be huge.

Given this fiscal reality for the next two years, we can expect that K-12 funding will be on the table for possible budget cuts. It’s clear, we need to be prepared to advocate on behalf of Wisconsin school children when this budget battle begins in January.