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Capitol Update May 29, 2025
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 29, 2025
State Budget Update: Joint Finance Committee Executive Session
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) is scheduled to convene today for its second executive session on the 2025–27 biennial state budget. The committee continues to work through smaller components of the budget, including operational appropriations for agencies such as the Office of Employee Trust Funds. Major funding decisions—such as K-12 education, Medicaid, and potential tax cuts—remain unresolved and are expected to dominate later stages of deliberation.
While legislative leaders continue discussions with the Governor, the path to final budget passage remains uncertain amid several complex and competing priorities. As the budget debate intensifies, the School Administrators Alliance (SAA) remains fully engaged at every step of the process to represent and advance the interests of Wisconsin’s public-school leaders.
Bottom line: Stay tuned. SAA will continue to provide timely updates as the Joint Finance Committee progresses through its deliberations.
This Week in the Legislature: AB 196 Hearing Highlights Broad Support
On Wednesday, the Assembly Committee on Local Government held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 196 (AB 196) with limited notice ahead of the holiday weekend. In addition to bill author Representative Wittke, testimony in support was provided by Dr. Deb Kerr (Superintendent, St. Francis School District) and Aaron Norris (Director of Finance and Operations, West Allis-West Milwaukee School District). The Wisconsin Association of Fire Chiefs and Tarna Hunter from the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) also testified in favor of the bill.
Our coalition joined a broad group of stakeholders in registering support, including the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB), Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA), Wisconsin Towns Association (WTA), League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM), the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS), and others.
This hearing builds on momentum from the earlier Senate hearing on companion bill Senate Bill 170 (SB 170), during which Dr. Lisa Elliot (Superintendent, Greenfield), Lance Bagstad (District Administrator, White Lake), and Dr. Jeff Weiss and Tarik Hamden (Superintendent and CFO, Kenosha Unified School District) shared compelling testimony. Each highlighted the pressing need for additional flexibility around rehired annuitant restrictions, citing real-world staffing challenges and the importance of retaining experienced educators in hard-to-fill positions.
Keep an eye out for updates from SAA and additional opportunities to engage your legislators to support AB 196/ SB 170 as we continue to build on the momentum from the hearings in the coming weeks.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need additional support on these or other pressing issues.
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