Senator Darling Resignation
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | November 23, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …GOP state Sen. Alberta Darling, who led the powerful Joint Finance Committee for a record-tying six terms, announced today she will retire Dec. 1 after 32 years in the Legislature.Her departure will open up a vacancy in her strongly GOP seat representing the Milwaukee suburbs.Darling, 78, didn’t cite a reason in her news release for her decision to retire in the middle of her eighth term in the Senate. She was first elected to the Assembly in a May 1990 special election and then won the Senate seat in 1992.In her resignation letter to Senate President Chris Kapenga, Darling wrote, “Serving requires many sacrifices and I look forward to giving family and friends my full attention.”Darling, R-River Hills, first co-chaired JFC in the 2003 session. She then returned to the co-chair’s spot in the 2011 session and held the gavel for five straight sessions. That was interrupted briefly by Dems winning control of the state Senate following the 2012 recall elections.“As the longest-serving woman to co-chair the Joint Committee on Finance, I made sure each and every dollar was spent prudently knowing this money comes from the hardworking people of our state,” said Darling, the first woman to serve as co-chair from the state Senate in the committee’s history.Darling was the target of a 2011 recall over former Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, beating back the challenge by nearly 7 points. Dems also targeted her in the 2020 elections, but she won with more than 54 percent of the vote even as Donald Trump only received 167 more votes in the district than Joe Biden. cRepublicans made the seat more Republican under the maps they drew and the state Supreme Court put in place this spring. According to Marquette University researcher John Johnson, it’s now a more than 56 percent GOP seat, based on top-of-the-ticket results in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the 2018 guv contest. That’s about 2.5 points more Republican than it had been.Caucuses often turn to incumbent state reps for special elections in the Senate. Republicans Janel Brandtjen, of Menomonee Falls, and Dan Knodl, of Germantown, this fall both won reelection to their Assembly seats that are part of the Senate district, as did Dem Deb Andraca, of Whitefish Bay.Republicans were poised to begin the new legislative session with a veto-proof majority of 22-11, but will now be at 21-11 come January.See the release here.
See the resignation letter here.
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Projected Budget Surplus grows to $6.6 Billion
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | November 21, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …The Evers administration now expects a nearly $6.6 billion budget surplus to end the fiscal year June 30, well above previous expectations that it would come in north of $5 billion.Providing the first look at the 2023-25 budget, the Department of Administration today said it expects an additional $1.5 billion in revenue growth over the two-year period.Meanwhile, state agencies have requested an increase of $3.6 billion in new general purpose revenue over the 2023-25 biennium.Between the projected surplus and the expected revenue growth, the state could fund every single agency request and still have $4.4 billion left over in the general fund.The report also noted the state has more than $1.7 billion in its rainy day fund.See the report here.
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Assembly Dems Hold Leadership Elections Today
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | November 17, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …Assembly Dems meet today to elect their slate of leaders for the 2023-24 session.All the incumbents are unopposed in seeking new terms:
- Minority Leader Greta Neubauer of Racine;
- Assistant Minority Leader Kalan Haywood of Milwaukee;
- Caucus Chair Lisa Subeck, Madison;
- Caucus Vice-chair Jill Billings, La Crosse;
- Secretary Kristina Shelton, Green Bay;
- Sergeant-at-arms Lee Snodgrass, Appleton.
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Senate Minority Leadership Elections
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | November 16, 2022
From The Wheeler Report . . .
Senate Democrats held leadership elections yesterday.
- Senate Minority Leader – Melissa Agard
- Senate Minority Assistant Leader – Jeff Smith
- Senate Minority Caucus Chair – Chris Larson
- Senate Minority Caucus Vice-Chair – Dianne Hesselbein
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General School Aids Announced
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | November 16, 2022
From The Wheeler Report . . .
According to a new Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo, “The general school aids appropriation funds equalization, integration (Chapter 220), and special adjustment aids. In 2022-23, $5,201.6 million from the general fund is provided in the general school aids appropriation. Of the total amount of funding provided, 394 of the state’s 421 school districts are eligible for $5,155.4 million in equalization aid, 20 districts are eligible for $37.2 million in integration aid, and 48 districts are eligible for $9.0 million in special adjustment aid.”
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