Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom Launches Advocacy Campaign
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 8, 2022
New today from Wispolitics.com:
More than a half-dozen groups are launching a new coalition to push for changes to education policy in Wisconsin, including an expansion of the state’s voucher program.Dubbed the Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom, the effort includes Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin, the American Federation for Children, the Badger Institute, K12/Stride, School Choice Wisconsin/School Choice Wisconsin Action, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.The coalition plans to propose an education agenda to lawmakers and to lobby the public on it. For additional information please follow this link.
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Republicans Dismiss Evers, Underly Call for School Funding
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 7, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …Gov. Tony Evers and state Superintendent Jill Underly today called for a nearly $2 billion increase in funding for public schools as they laid down the first big chunk of DPI’s budget plan if the guv is reelected.Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, was quick to dismiss the proposal as an election-year ploy, while GOP guv candidate Tim Michels called it just more “money and more bureaucracy.”The biggest ticket items in the package included a call to increase revenue limits by $350 per pupil in 2023-24 and $650 in 2024-25. Under the plan, the state would provide $800 million in additional aid to hold down the impact on property taxes.On top of that, Evers and Underly are calling for additional per pupil increases of $24 per student in the first year of the budget and $45 in the second. That would amount to another $60 million boost to public schools that would go toward increasing their overall ability to spend.The plan also includes investing $750 million more over the biennium in special education funding.“This is a feeble ploy to try to win votes after the disastrous results of Governor Evers’ failures,” Vos wrote on Twitter. “The impact and damage done to children’s education by shutting down schools for two years is not something their parents will easily forget.”Evers ordered schools to close in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic. He then left the decision up to local officials.State agencies have to turn in their budget requests to the Evers administration by Sept. 15. But today’s announcement didn’t touch on a host of state funding for schools such as the $55.9 million in aid to small, rural districts in this biennium. It also didn’t address the state’s voucher program, which Republicans want to expand.If he’s reelected, Evers would have to sell the GOP-controlled Legislature on the proposal after the two have been at odds over education funding in both of his budgets. GOP lawmakers, for example, cut nearly $1 billion in general purpose revenue he had proposed for the DPI budget for 2021-23, arguing education funding had to take into account the millions in federal COVID-19 aid flowing into the state. If Michels wins this fall, Underly would have to convince him and Republican lawmakers of the benefits of funding the plan.Evers said the state is looking at a $5 billion surplus in the 2023-25 biennium and can make such a significant investment in schools without raising property taxes.“Budgets are about priorities, and that’s why building our biennial budget always begins for me with doing what’s best for our kids, and we know our kids, families, and schools need our help now more than ever to get caught up, get more educators and staff in our classrooms, and ensure every kid has the support and resources they need to be successful,” Evers said.The new proposals include:*a student mental health categorical aid. The plan would invest $240 million in the effort to start to ensure every district could have at least one full-time staffer focused on mental health services. Districts would also get additional money based on enrollment.*a categorical aid of $10 million each year to fund literacy-related programming.*a state-funded program to reimburse districts for breakfast, milk, snack and lunch expenses to make it more affordable for students regardless of family income.*a $10 million categorical aid for literacy programs.*a $5 million initiative to improve financial literacy.
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Evers, Underly Announce 2023-25 State Budget Priorities
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 6, 2022
With kids, parents, educators, staff, and administrators across Wisconsin beginning the new school year, Gov. Tony Evers, together with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, today welcomed Wisconsinites back to school by announcing their shared priorities for the 2023-25 K-12 education budget. Check out the press release below. More to follow.
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Governor Evers Announces Additional Covid-19 Support for Public Schools
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 30, 2022
Today Governor Evers announced an additional $90 million in federal COVID funds would be directed to support public schools.
More information from Wispolitics.com is below:
Gov. Tony Evers today announced he’s putting another $90 million of federal COVID-19 funds into K-12 education with a portion of the new money dedicated to mental health services.
Districts will have until the end of calendar year 2026 to spend $75 million of the money for various needs, including staff. That money will be distributed on a per-pupil basis and amounts to $91.15 per student for each district and independent charter school.
The other $15 million is on top of $15 million Evers previously gave schools to help with mental health services. Between the two pots of money, districts that opt in will get a minimum grant of $20,000 with the rest of the money divided up on a per-pupil basis.
Evers also announced in December he was dedicated $110 million in COVID-19 federal funds to K-12 after the GOP-controlled Legislature rejected his calls to invest more state money into schools. Republican lawmakers argued a significant state investment wasn’t needed considering the amount of federal COVID-19 funds that flowed directly into districts.
During a Madison news conference today, Evers didn’t rule out dedicating more COVID-19 funds to schools, saying some of that money had to be held back in case there are public health needs with the pandemic continuing to be an issue.
He also pledged to use a portion of the state’s surplus — which he said will be more than $5 billion by mid-2023 — to invest in K-12 education if reelected.
See the release here.
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ICYMI: State Revenue Collections Above Projections
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 29, 2022
From The Wheeler Report . . .
According to a release from the Department of Revenue, General Purpose Revenue Collections for FY2022 were above the Legislative Fiscal Bureau January estimates by $1.6 billion. Preliminary Collections show $20.5 billion, a 5.0% increase in FY2022; 8.6% more than LFB’s January 2022 estimates.
A new memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau says, “Collections were significantly higher than previously estimated for the individual income tax ($1,004.5 million) and the corporate income/franchise ax ($545.5 million). These two taxes comprise $1,550.0 million, or 95.6%, of the higher tax collections for 2021-22…Withholding table changes, as directed by DOR for implementation by January 1, 2022, were expected to result in lower withholding tax collections of 6.4% over the last six months of 2021-22. However, withholding collections were only 4.1% lower during the last six months of 2021-22.” The memo also highlights that per statutes, half of any excess of actual general fund tax collections in a fiscal year over the amount estimated must be deposited into the budget stabilization fund unless the balance in the budget stabilization fund exceeds 5% of the estimated general fund expenditures. Since the budget stabilization fund currently has a balance that exceeds 5%, no transfer will be made to the fund.
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