Public education in Wisconsin will face devastating consequences if the budget proposal for K-12 education, moved forward by the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC), is enacted. Historically, there has been bipartisan support for public schools to fulfill the state’s responsibility to provide for education as set out in Wisconsin’s Constitution; however, the current JFC proposal fails to meet that standard.
The JFC proposal does not consider basic inflationary costs, and does not provide any basic increases, including no increases in spending authority for schools districts, in state spending per pupil aid and in general state aid for school districts.
Additionally, this proposal fails to:
- Honor the tradition of providing the funding necessary to keep pace with costs;
- Live up to the recommendations of numerous bipartisan studies that warn that the state is falling backward and that call for the effort needed to retake our place as a state that leads in education; and
- Adequately provide needed funding for students with disabilities.
The budget proposal also fails to meet the federal maintenance of effort requirement for federal COVID financial relief, meaning Wisconsin will miss out on nearly $1.5 billion of federal money earmarked for education. Such funds are intended to assist Wisconsin’s public schools with the funds necessary to re-open buildings safely, create new learning environments and provide resources for academic catch-up and acceleration and to support the social and emotional needs of students when they transition back to more traditional forms of learning. If JFC's proposal becomes law, Wisconsin will not be eligible to receive these funds.
Members of the Senate and the Assembly still need to vote on the budget, and they do not have to accept the JFC proposal. Your action now is critical to changing the direction of public school funding for the next two years. Contact your legislators now and let them know you believe the state should invest in public education - especially now.
