Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers address the Legislature in his 2024 State of the State message. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that Wisconsin’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which is published by the Department of Administration, recorded a $4.5 billion positive balance in the state’s general fund at the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year.
In addition to the general fund, the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund — or “rainy day” fund — ended the fiscal year at the highest level in state history with a balance of $1.9 billion. The rainy day fund has set a new record every year since Evers took office in 2019.
“For thirty consecutive years, our state’s checking account ran at a deficit. Thanks to our efforts to pay down our state’s debt and work across the aisle to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, Wisconsin has never had a deficit since I took office,” Evers said in a statement. “This is great news for the people of Wisconsin and our state’s economy.”
The balance in the general fund — a budget surplus — will likely be a major point of discussion next year as Evers and lawmakers begin work on the state’s next two-year budget.
Writing the state budget is a process that will take several months as Evers first gets to present his budget proposal to lawmakers, then the state’s Joint Finance Committee will write its own version. The budget bill will need to pass the Senate and Assembly before going to Evers to be signed.
“As we begin the important work of deliberating our state’s next two-year budget, we have a responsibility to keep staying well within our means while still investing in needs that have long been neglected,” Evers said. “We must continue to make the smart, strategic investments we have for the last five years to maintain our economic momentum and ensure Wisconsin’s continued stability and success.”
Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) during a press conference in March 2023. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) both serve on one of the most powerful committees in the Wisconsin State Legislature, yet as members of the minority they’ve often been frustrated by the way Republicans on the committee have excluded them from conversations. The lawmakers say they hope some of this changes next year.
The 16-person Joint Finance Committee is responsible for writing the state’s two-year budget — deciding which policy priorities get funding and which don’t — and reviewing all state appropriations and revenues. Republican lawmakers will continue to hold 12 seats next session with Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) serving as co-chairs.
In previous sessions, when Democrats held a smaller minority in the Senate and Assembly, the lawmakers said Republicans often excluded them from the budget negotiation process.
“The Republican party didn’t just treat us badly because we were in the minority, they treated us as though we did not exist on Joint Finance,” Johnson said. “Some of their motions we didn’t find out about until they were actually passing them out on paper. That means we had very little input.”
Roys said it’s been “very easy for the Republicans to just go in a little room, figure out what they’re going to do, and then they come out and they all vote in lockstep.”
“There’s no discussion, there’s no transparency, and there’s certainly no opportunity for Democrats to have our priorities reflected in the budget,” Roys said.
Beyond budget writing discussions, Republican lawmakers on the committee have also often rejected calls from Democrats on the committee to release money that was already dedicated to certain issues.
Johnson called the practice of withholding of money a “tremendous problem.” She noted that $50 million that was meant to help support the implementation of new literacy curricula in schools across the state haven’t been released despite being included in the 2023-25 budget.
“Not only are they holding those funds up, but the cost is continuing to rise, so that $50 million that was promised in 2024 isn’t going to go as far in 2025,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen that.”
Johnson also pointed out that funding to help expand the number of beds at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center, a facility in Madison that provides specialized treatment services for juveniles transferred from the Department of Corrections, was withheld for about six months. It was only released after the death of a youth counselor for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at Lincoln Hills School for Boys at the hands of a 16-year-old boy.
Other funds that have been withheld by the committee in the recent session include $10 million to support hospitals in the Chippewa Valley and $125 million to combat PFAS contamination.
“What is the purpose of us allocating these funds if the agencies can’t access them the way that they need to to make these programs work, to get what they need to get?” Johnson said.
“That dynamic is at play, and I wonder if it will chasten the Republicans. It doesn’t seem to have done so yet,” Roys said.
Elections under new legislative maps increased Democrats’ presence in the state Legislature by 14 seats. In the upcoming session about 45% of the Legislature will be Democrats, but they will only make up one-quarter of the finance committee with four seats. Despite this, Democrats hope that Republicans will allow for more communication.
Whether there is more bipartisan collaboration in JFC next session given the closer margins in the Senate and Assembly is an open question, Roys said.
“There’s always an opportunity,” Roys said. “Our doors are open, and we are very willing to collaborate. I think we’ve shown that in previous sessions by supporting legislation that would not have passed without Democratic votes, even though Republicans had these crazy outsized majorities.”
Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) during a press conference in June 2023. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Johnson said that she hopes that Republicans learned a lesson from the recent elections, and warned that if Republicans don’t change their ways it could hurt their election chances in two years, when Democrats will aim to flip the Senate.
Republicans in the Senate lost four members in recent elections, including two who were members of the committee — Sens. Joan Ballweg and Duey Stroebel. Three new Republican Senators are joining the committee next session — Sen. Romaine Quinn, Julian Bradley and Rob Stafsholt — to replace the outgoing lawmakers and newly elected Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk).
Johnson said that, while she’s glad to have Sen.-elect. Sarah Keyeski of Lodi, who ousted Ballweg, joining the Senate Democrats, she thought Ballweg was a good lawmaker, who faced the consequences of gerrymandering.
“That’s the hard part of when maps are gerrymandered … when it’s corrected, sometimes the people that you lose are the moderates who are willing to do the right thing simply because it’s the right thing,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t mean that she never voted with her side. Of course she did. But she stepped away from that sometimes when she needed things for her community, too. She wasn’t opposed to doing the right thing.”
Johnson said she hopes the writing is on the wall for lawmakers that want to ostracize the minority.
“If they don’t take this as a wake-up call, then that’s better for us,” Johnson said. “Continue to operate the way that you have been operating for these last 11 years or so that I’ve been in the building, continue to do that, and it should most definitely be best for us next election cycle.”
Priorities for the lawmakers
Johnson, who has served on the committee since 2017, says she continues to because of the opportunity it presents.
“The quickest way to help some of the people that I know that need help the most — like the working poor in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County — is through JFC,” Johnson says. “That’s where all of the important decisions are made because if you’re going to get anything passed in that building that requires one dollar amount, then that money has to be set aside through JFC to make sure that the appropriate appropriations are there.”
Johnson said lawmakers have been preparing for the next budget cycle by reading agency requests.
The Democratic senators said they want to see next year’s budget invest in a variety of priorities, including K-12 and higher education, local government funding, child care, health care and public safety.
Johnson said that investing in some of these priorities could help bring down costs down the road.
Johnson noted the high costs of housing youth at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools. Currently, the state budgets $463,000 annually to house each juvenile in those facilities, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has requested that be increased to about $862,000 per year by 2026.
investing in human needs and public education instead could help prevent children from ending up at the facility, Johnson said.
“It drives me crazy,” Johnson said. “I would much rather see my tax dollars being spent on higher educational tuition reimbursements, more housing assistance, more Foodshare, more whatever, to keep these families stable, to keep these kids in the home, than to pay [over] $860,000 for one child that may or may not correct that behavior.”
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has requested an additional $4 billion in funding, the UW System has requested an additional $855 million and the state’s technical colleges have requested an additional $45 million.
Roys mentioned increasing funding for education and local governments as some of her top priorities.
“We’ve been asking our schools and local governments to continually do more with less under these harsh levy limits and inadequate funding from the state. That compounds over time,” Roys said. “We have got to make sure that our schools and our local governments have the money they need to continue providing the service that every single Wisconsinite deserves.”
When it comes to K-12 education, Roys said securing a 90% special education reimbursement for public schools would be her top priority. Private schools that participate in the school choice program already receive that rate of reimbursement, while public schools currently receive about a 33% reimbursement.
“We have a moral and a legal obligation to educate all kids, and that means meeting the needs of students with disabilities, but when the state only pays for a third of the cost of educating what that means is that school districts have to take away things for all students,” Roys said. “All kids are being harmed by the state failing to meet this unfunded mandate, failing to fund this obligation.”
Roys said investing in child care is another big priority for her.
Wisconsin’s Child Care Counts program was launched in March 2020 using federal money and has provided funding assistance to eligible child care providers to help support operating expenses, investments in program quality, tuition relief for families, staff compensation and professional development. The program is set to end in June 2025, however, as federal funds will run out.
“We cannot have a vibrant economy and have the workforce participation that we need for a strong economy if we don’t have affordable, accessible child care in every corner of the state,” Roys said. “The Legislature’s decision to go from, you know, $300 million Child Care Counts program that kept the doors open to $0 for child care in the last budget has had devastating consequences in every community across the state.”
Lawmakers on what people should know
When asked about what people should know going into next year, Johnson said people need to stay aware of what the committee is doing. She pointed out that people who closely watch Wisconsin politics probably already know about the importance of JFC.
“For those people who are not politically savvy and who don’t pay attention to those types of things, they really need to pay attention to JFC,” Johnson said.
“JFC is where those priorities are manifested, or they go to die,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter how good a piece of legislation is, if the funding isn’t there for it and it requests dollar amounts, it’s gonna die.”
Roys said people should make their voices and priorities known, saying that people could send emails to every member of the committee.
“Public input tells us what’s important,” Roys said. “We can’t guarantee, obviously, what the Republicans are going to choose and be funded, but it does send a strong message. That is how we know without a shadow of a doubt that public education and affordable child care were key priorities, but Republicans chose to ignore that.”
Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born, who will continue to serve as co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee in 2025, during a press conference in May 2023. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Assembly leaders have announced their appointments to the influential Joint Finance Committee for next session. The 16-member committee is responsible for writing the state’s two-year budget and reviewing state appropriations and revenues.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) announced last week that Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) will continue to serve as co-chair of the committee alongside Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green). Born has served as a co-chair since 2019.
Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) is replacing outgoing Rep. Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg), who decided to retire this year, as vice-chair of the committee.
“I am confident that together, Reps. Born and Kurtz will work with their colleagues on the Joint Finance Committee to always put taxpayers first,” Vos said in a statement.
Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Withee) will join the committee next session.
“I look forward to the task of balancing the state budget and ensuring our state’s finances remain strong,” Hurd said in a statement. “We will work to strengthen Wisconsin’s economy.”
Reps. Alex Dallman (R-Green Lake), Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) and Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) will all return to the committee next session.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) announced Thursday that Reps. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) and Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) will continue to serve on the committee next session.
“Both legislators have proven themselves as powerful communicators and effective leaders, and I am sure they will both serve their communities and our state well on the legislature’s most powerful committee,” Neubauer said in a statement. “Next year, Assembly Democrats will fight for a visionary budget that moves our state forward, and I am confident that Rep. McGuire and Rep. Andraca are ready to advocate for what’s best for our state on the Joint Finance Committee.”
McGuire has served on the committee since January 2023, and Andraca was first appointed to the committee in August 2023 to fill a vacancy left by Rep. Evan Goyke.
McGuire said in a statement that his top priority on the committee will be ensuring “working families in Wisconsin can thrive.”
“That means fighting for affordability in housing and healthcare, quality public education, and a strong economy that grows the middle class and ensures hard-working people can get ahead,” McGuire said.
Other members of the committee include:
Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), who will serve as the Senate co-chair
“Make no mistake, we still hold the majority,” Felzkowski said. “I hope we have better conversations. I hope we have better negotiations," Senate President Mary Felzkowsi said. (Screenshot via Zoom)
New-elected Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said Tuesday that she hopes for more bipartisan conversations next year, but that her caucus plans to operate in the same way it has previously, since Republicans still hold the majority in the Wisconsin Legislature, even after losing a handful of seats this election year.
The Legislature will return with closer margins next year following elections under new legislative maps. Republicans will have an 18-15 majority in the Senate, down from their previous 22-seat supermajority. In the Assembly Republicans will hold a 55-45 majority. Felzkowski made her comments during a WisPolitics panel Tuesday alongside Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) and two strategists — Keith Gilkes, a consultant and former chief political advisor for Republican former Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic strategist Tanya Bjork.
“Make no mistake, we still hold the majority,” Felzkowski said. “I hope we have better conversations. I hope we have better negotiations.”
Felzkowski said she would “love” to have more meetings with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, noting that former Gov. Scott Walker used to conduct weekly meetings with lawmakers during his time in office. (During the Walker administration, Republicans controlled both chambers of the Legislature and Democrats accused them of breaking the law by meeting in secret with Walker.)
Democratic leaders have said that they believe there will be more opportunities for work across the aisle next year, and that more competitive legislative districts will encourage that.
“We’ve got some Republicans. We’ve got some Democrats who are in close, 50-50 seats,” Neubauer said during the panel discussion. “I expect that some in Republican leadership want things to continue as they have in the past, but I expect that a lot of those members who are in those difficult seats are going to be pushing to invest in K-12, to lower costs for working families, to take up popular policy.”
The state budget — and potential use of the $4 billion budget surplus — will be a major focus for lawmakers when they return in 2025. Writing the budget is a time when lawmakers discuss potential policy changes on a wide array of issues, and the potential funding that should be placed behind them.
Potential budget proposals and policy changes in wake of school shooting
“This is the deadliest school shooting on record in Wisconsin and it’s just an incredible tragedy. I know that people across the state are sending their good thoughts, of course, to those who were impacted but also really are looking for leadership in this time,” Neubauer said. She said proposals from President Joe Biden, who called for Congress to pass universal background checks, a national red flag law and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as new proposals from Wisconsin legislators in the state budget could be paths for improving school safety.
“In Wisconsin, for many years, we’ve been talking about red flag laws. We’ve been talking about universal background checks. These are policies that are widely supported by the people of this state, and I think in particular when it hits home for kids,” Neubauer said.
“For my school district here in the Racine area, they would really like to invest in school safety, there are important programs that they run, there are physical improvements that they would like to make, and I know that we’re going to be having a budget conversation very soon,” Neubauer continued. “I do hope that we’re able to keep in mind that investments in K-12 are also investments in school safety, and that’s a responsibility of the Legislature for the coming session.”
Felzkowski stopped short of endorsing the policy changes that Neubauer mentioned. She instead said that people need to look at what has changed in American society, adding that people also took guns to school 30 and 40 years ago.
“We went hunting after school and nobody was afraid. Nobody was afraid that they were going to get shot at school, so society has changed,” Felzkowski said. “I think we need to recognize those factors that have changed in our society.”
“We can pass a lot of different legislation, but we need to start looking at underlying causes…Is it social media? Is it cyberbullying? Is it too much screen time in our children? Is it violence that we’ve allowed them to watch at a young age?” Felzkowski asked. “I hope we can come together with a lot of tough conversations and look at that.”
Felzkowski said increasing weapons screening in schools could also be a point of discussion.
“Those are conversations that we should have in this budget to help fund ideas, so that people can’t walk through the door with no screening,” Felzkowski said.
Spending the surplus, funding priorities
The state’s $4 billion budget surplus will likely be a key point of discussion during the budget writing process. Felzkowski said that when it comes to the surplus Republicans will “do exactly what we did last time,” and don’t plan on using the money for recurring projects.
“If the majority of this is one-time money we’re going to spend it on one-time projects,” Felzkowski said. “One-time money should be spent on infrastructure. Instead of borrowing, we’ll spend it on our roads. We’ll spend it on maintaining our buildings.”
Felzkowski said during the budget process, lawmakers will survey current spending costs and what funding could be needed for other priorities. She said returning money to taxpayers would also be a priority.
“If we have a $4 billion surplus, then we have too much of our taxpayers’ money; we can return it to them,” Felzkowski said.
Felzkowski added that the government didn’t choose for property taxes to rise in certain communities. Her comments follow a Wisconsin Policy Forum report that found gross K-12 property taxes in the state are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009. She said she voted in favor of raising property taxes in her own community.
“When people vote at the local level to increase their taxes, their property taxes, that’s a decision they make, and that’s a decision they choose to make,” Felzkowski said. “I don’t think that’s government making that decision for them and I think that’s something they can do.”
Neubauer said Assembly Democrats would be open to conversations about tax cuts, if they’re targeted.
“We’re just simply not gonna give a tax cut to the wealthiest Wisconsinites and people who do not need it. We are very open to considering a tax cut that is targeted, that is focused on middle class and working families,” Neubauer said. She said also that people in their communities are being “forced to raise their own property taxes in order to fund their schools.”
Felzkowski didn’t specify what potential tax cut proposals would look like, but noted that Evers “moved the needle” for what he considered a middle class tax cut when he vetoed some tax cut bills lawmakers sent him earlier this year. Those proposals included raising the top income in the state’s second-lowest tax bracket to just over $112,000, exempting up to $150,000 in retirement income from the state income tax and increasing the current maximum marriage tax credit. Evers did sign a law increasing Wisconsin’s child care tax credit.
“If Gov. Evers continues to move the needle on what ‘middle class’ is, then we’re kind of at a loss,” Felzkowski said, adding that some families struggling financially could use a tax cut. “We gave [Evers] the tax cut and he still vetoed it. I’m hoping that that needle doesn’t move again.”
Several policy proposals are likely to be discussed next year in relation to the budget, including for Medicaid expansion and higher education. States that accept the federal Medicaid expansion agree to cover people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty guideline, and the federal government pays 90% of the cost for the additional Medicaid recipients, more than the 60% Wisconsin currently receives.
Evers has proposed that Wisconsin join 40 other states across the country in adopting the Medicaid expansion every budget cycle, and Republicans have rejected the proposal each time. Felzkowski said that it remains off the table for Republicans.
“We don’t have a gap in Wisconsin, so why would we take people off of private insurance to put them on government insurance and put our hospitals, who are already suffering, into a worse position with a lower reimbursement rate?” Felzkowski said. “We don’t need to create more gaps in health care when we have people covered.”
Neubauer said that Medicaid expansion would continue to be a priority for Assembly Democrats. She said that some insurance remains a “huge strain” on families with private insurance.
“They frankly are not able to afford it. They are cutting in other areas to afford that insurance,” Neubauer said.
Higher education will also be a focus of budget discussions as the UW System has requested an additional $855 million to bring the system up to the national median in state spending. Felzkowski said that she hasn’t heard much support for the proposal.
Other issue areas
Lawmakers may also turn their attention back to medical marijuana legalization this year. Felzkowski said that there was one person standing in the way of getting it done last session: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
“That person has some pretty strict ideas on how that bill should be drafted,” Felzkowski said. Vos’ proposal last session included opening a handful of state run dispensaries, an unpopular idea among many in the Legislature. “We’re hoping to have a conversation in early January to see if there isn’t a way that we can come to a consensus between Assembly Republicans and Senate Republicans to negotiate a compromise.”
Felzkowski said that a bill to allow “Monday processing” of absentee ballots could also come forward next session. A proposal to allow election clerks to begin processing absentee ballots on the Monday before the election passed the Assembly last session but never advanced in the Senate.
“There are many senators that were very much in support of that. The chair of the Senate elections committee was not and chose not to hear that. He is no longer a member of the Senate,” Felzkowski said. Sen. Dan Knodl, who served as chair of that committee, chose not to run for reelection under the new legislative maps, but will serve in the Assembly next year. “I’m hoping this year that we will have a committee hearing on that bill if it’s brought back and that we have a robust conversation on that. I personally think that is something that we should be doing in the state of Wisconsin.”
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein on floor of Senate. (Courtesy Hesselbein's office)
Wisconsin Senate Democrats knew going into this year’s elections that their opportunity to flip the Senate wouldn’t come until 2026, but they had a goal of flipping four seats and keeping every seat already held by a Democrat. They succeeded, and now the caucus is preparing for a legislative session with high hopes for bipartisan work.
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told the Wisconsin Examiner in a year-end interview that her 15-member caucus is bringing “a lot of energy, enthusiasm and honesty” to the Senate and is looking forward to working next session. She said the bolstered caucus is returning for the next two-year session with “a lot of good ideas.”
Hesselbein said lawmakers have already started to talk about what happened on the campaign trail, and the caucus will begin having more robust conversations next week about their priorities for the session. She said the importance of public schools including K-12, universities and technical colleges has been a recurring theme already.
Hesselbein sees new influence for Democrats in a few ways. For one, Senate Democrats now have the numbers to stop Senate Republicans from overturning Gov. Tony Evers’ vetoes. Hesselbein said this is “huge.” Senate Republicans held a 22-seat supermajority in the 2023-24 session, which allowed them to vote to overturn some of Evers’ vetoes, though these efforts weren’t successful since Assembly Republicans didn’t hold a supermajority. Senate Republicans’ majority was trimmed back to 18 out of 33 seats in the recent election.
With a more evenly split Legislature, Hesselbein said there will be the potential to get more things done in a bipartisan way. She noted that last session several big pieces of legislation, including funding renovations at the stadium where the Milwaukee Brewers play, investing in the state’s local government funding and overhauling the state’s alcohol licensing, had bipartisan support.
“They have a lot of Republicans on their side that don’t vote for much of anything, so we will see going forward,” Hesselbein said. She said that she has spoken with Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and newly-elected Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) about the upcoming session, and the conversation was good. She said Senate Republicans plan to caucus on Monday and Senate Democrats will caucus on Tuesday, and the leaders will hopefully meet again in January.
“I’m going to have conversations with Sen. LeMahieu and Sen. Felzkowski, and figure out if there’s a way we can move forward in a bipartisan manner,” Hesselbein said.
One area ripe for work next year is the state’s two-year budget. With a $4 billion budget surplus, lawmakers will return in January with the task of deciding how to spend the money.
Hesselbein said she believes that Democratic votes could be necessary to successfully pass a budget. The Senate Democratic leader hasn’t voted in favor of a state budget in her 12 years in the Legislature, and hopes that can change.
“I don’t know how they would pass a budget without Democratic votes. They have a lot of Republicans on their side that don’t vote for much of anything,” Hesselbein. She pointed to Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), who voted against the last state budget, as an example. Nass’ Chief of Staff Mike Mikalsen noted in an email to the Examiner that Nass has voted against “many fiscally flawed and big spending state budgets,” but that “since his first election in 1990, he has voted in favor of a few fiscally-sane state budgets.”
Agencies recently submitted their budget requests, and when it comes to education funding, DPI Superintendent Jill Underly submitted a request for an additional $4 billion and the UW System has asked for an additional $855 million. Hesselbein said she was surprised that the requests were so high.
“They’re big numbers but you know what? They have been underfunded for decades,” Hesselbein said.
Underly’s job, Hesselbein said, is “to run the Department of Public Instruction and let us know what she thinks she needs for that budget, and she did that.” She said that UW System President Jay Rothman had the same responsibility.
“I know we couldn’t meet both their expectations, right, without blowing a huge hole in the budget,” Hesselbein said.
Shoring up education
Hesselbein said that investing in the state’s special education reimbursement for public schools could be particularly important as there is uncertainty about what could happen under the new Trump administration.
“If Donald Trump gets rid of the Department of Education on a federal level, what does that do for special education in the state of Wisconsin? We have students that have IEPs, and they have federal protection so that they can get help but they might be learning different ways,” Hesselbein said. “There’s a lot of unsure things going on right now.”
Hesselbein said investing in mental health resources in K-12 schools and higher education will be important as well.
Republicans have said tax cuts will be one of their highest priorities next year. Hesselbein said that any tax cuts would need to be “micro-targeted” to gain Democratic support, and she doesn’t know if Republicans will “get there based on what they did last session.” Republican lawmakers had proposed several tax cuts that Evers vetoed, including an income tax cut.
Hesselbein added that property tax relief could be an interesting proposition, given that many communities have decided to raise their property taxes to help with education costs. A recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report found that gross K-12 property taxes in the state are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009 due in part to referendum requests.
“Really the reason why we have billions of dollars in our surplus is because we haven’t been funding K-12 education the way we should for years,” Hesselbein said. “People over and over again will raise their property tax if they want to support their neighborhood schools, so those people are agreeing to tax themselves higher because they care so much about K-12 education, but they’re making those decisions because the state of Wisconsin isn’t keeping up their promise to pay for those services and that school.”
Other Democratic prioirites
When it comes to health care issues, Hesselbein said that she hopes lawmakers will be able to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers to 12 months. She noted that Wisconsin is one of two states in the U.S. that haven’t accepted the expansion. The Senate passed a bill to do so in the most recent legislative session, but it never received a vote in the Assembly.
“We have it on the books where you get 60 days and if you’re postpartum 61 days, too bad, you don’t get any services,” Hesselbein said. “That’s not how your body works after you have a baby.” She said women who have just given birth need support and resources.
As Democrats are still in the minority, Hesselbein admitted there will likely be limits to what Democrats can accomplish on certain issues next session as much will depend on Republicans.
Hesselbein said Democrats will continue working to eliminate the 1849 statute that went into effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned, causing the cessation of abortion services in Wisconsin. That law is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court. She said that she also wants to pass a bill for a fairer process for drawing voting maps. Wisconsin implemented new maps this year after the state Supreme Court ruled that the last set of maps, drawn to heavily favor Republicans, were unconstitutional. However, the laws guiding how Wisconsin draws voting maps haven’t changed.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen until we’re in the majority, but we’re going to continue to push for that,” Hesselbein said.
Hesselbein said it would be a “missed opportunity” if Republicans choose not to work with Democrats to get things done, and said voters will remember “if we don’t get the budget done on time…if we’re not meeting as much” and what bills get completed.
“I can’t force Republicans to work with me if they won’t do that,” Hesselbein said. “I can offer an olive branch. I can say, ‘My door is open. Let’s have these conversations.’ But at the end of the day if they refuse to work with me, that’s on them.”
Hesselbein recalled that on the last day of session Senate Republicans ended debate even as Democrats wanted to speak, which led to Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) throwing papers up in the air in frustration.
“We answer to the voters in our district and it’s awful when the Republican Party silences Democrats, just because they don’t want to hear what we need to say to represent the communities that we represent. That’s unfair,” Hesselbein said. “And we won’t do that, by the way, when we’re in the majority. We’re going to let people be able to talk and be able to say what they want and have robust conversations.”
The Assembly Democratic Caucus will enter the next year with 45 members — ten more than last session. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) speaking at a press conference before an April 25, 2023 floor session. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a year-end interview that the new makeup of the state Legislature is going to have a real impact next legislative session.
The Assembly Democratic Caucus will enter the next year with 45 members — ten more than last session — after the recent elections under new legislative maps, and the work to prepare for next session has started.
“The fair maps already started to change the culture of the state Legislature. We saw more bipartisan work last session. I expect that that will only increase as we go forward,” Neubauer told the Wisconsin Examiner. “We’ve got legislators who are going to be looking over their left and their right shoulder — a lot of people in competitive districts who are going to need to listen to their constituents and get things done.”
Assembly Democrats are looking to get things done, Neubauer said. To prepare, leaders are having one-on-one conversations with members. New lawmakers are participating in a freshman orientation this week and a caucus retreat is scheduled for later this week.
“We are working as a group to identify our top priorities — what it would take for us to vote for the budget, for example — and working to collectively leverage our power.” Neubauer said. She said many of the caucus’ new members have a local government background or have worked in advocacy roles or as a union leader, which is helpful.
Neubauer said she thinks the majority party will need some Democratic support to pass important bills, which could give Assembly Democrats the chance to shape forthcoming legislation.
“We want to make sure that we are taking advantage of those opportunities to get real wins for our constituents and pass important policy,” Neubauer said.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said during a press conference last month that he would still be seeking “consensus” among Republicans before moving forward on issues, even with the new slimmer margins. However, Neubauer said she thinks there will be more opportunities to work together on certain issues as there may be more members of the Republican caucus pushing their leadership to take up certain issues including investment in education, lowering costs, expanding access to health care including by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage, protecting the environment and providing clean drinking water.
“The reality is that he now has a lot of members who are in very close seats, who are going to need to go home and answer for their votes,” Neubauer said. “There’s a lot of really popular issues that Republicans have refused to take significant action on that I anticipate will be getting more air time in the coming session.”
Neubauer said she hasn’t spoken with Vos about the upcoming session, but hopes to soon.
Budget writing and other legislative priorities
When the Legislature returns to session next year, Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature will work on writing the next two-year budget. State agencies have delivered their requests to Evers, who will write his own budget proposals. The Legislature will then write and vote on its own version before sending it to Evers, who will have the opportunity to sign or veto the budget.
“I am hopeful that in this budget, we will be able to lower costs for families in Wisconsin in housing and child care and prescription drugs. I hope that we’re able to make real investments in education and giving every kid the opportunity to succeed in our state,” Neubauer said.
School funding a top priority
Neubauer said education funding will likely be a top priority for the caucus, and that the proposals from the UW System and the Department of Public Instruction are strong. The UW System is requesting an additional $855 million from the state for many priorities, including wage increases, general operations costs, mental health services and extending the Wisconsin Tuition Promise. The Department of Public Instruction has requested an additional $4.3 billion to support schools struggling to meet costs; the request follows a record year for school referendum requests.
“I really appreciate the ambition and the effort to make the necessary investments to give every student in Wisconsin the ability to succeed,” Neubauer said. “We know that the state Legislature has not been keeping up its end of the bargain in terms of funding for our public schools and the Assembly Republicans have seemingly decided that their role is to attack and undermine the UW system rather than support and uplift it.”
Neubauer said she hopes they’re able to get a significant increase for education spending given the state’s significant $4 billion surplus, but noted that those priorities need to be balanced with other important priorities. When it comes to specific policies for investment for K-12 education, Neubauer said Democrats will be focused on increasing the reimbursement rate for special education, securing a “significant” increase to per pupil aid and mental health resources.
“It should not be falling to local communities to raise their property taxes in order to fund their schools, and I think for many of us, you know, we walk into our local schools and we see what’s been cut, and we see where additional resources could really make a difference for kids, and we think this is just wrong.” Neubauer said. She noted that Racine County, where she is from, is one community dealing with financial difficulties, including deficits and budget cuts. “We’re not doing right by them, and so I do think that’ll be a big focus for us in this budget, and then we will see where else we can support families to make ends meet and to have great opportunities in Wisconsin in the years ahead.”
Republican lawmakers, including leaders and those on the budget committee, have said that “returning the surplus back to taxpayers” will be one of their top priorities. Neubauer said that Democrats would be open to talking about targeted tax cuts that benefit middle class families.
“What we’ve seen from Republicans in the last several years is proposals that primarily benefit the richest Wisconsinites and corporations, and we’re not interested in that,” Neubauer said. “We know that many people are struggling to make ends meet in Wisconsin, but it can’t break the bank, and it needs to be targeted.”
Funding local government
Neubauer said local government funding will likely be another key priority for Democrats this coming session. Even with the shared revenue overhaul last session, she said many Wisconsin communities are still struggling to fund essential services.
“We did make progress, but we had fallen so far behind,” Neubauer said. “We’ve got red and blue communities that are coming to us and saying with the federal dollars going away here at the end of the year, they’re going to have a very difficult time funding their public health departments, their parks and community centers, their public safety and those are all essential to our community’s well being.”
Prying loose JFC’s grip on the public purse
Neubauer said she hopes with the maps that there will be more accountability for lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee if they decide to withhold funds next session. Lawmakers dedicated money to several issues last session — including $125 million to combat PFAS, $50 million to support new literacy initiatives and $15 million for hospitals in the Chippewa Valley — however, the funds have been withheld by the Republican-led Joint Finance Committee due to policy differences after the funds were allocated.
Neubauer said she hopes this will happen less in the coming session. She pointed out that Sen. Duey Stroebel, a prominent Republican member of the committee, was ousted from his seat this election cycle by Democrat Sen.-elect. Jodi Habush Sinykin. Sen. Joan Ballweg, another member of the committee, also lost her reelection bid.
“People of Wisconsin don’t really like that. Those are important priorities to people across the state,” Neubauer said. “I think that having more legislators and competitive seats will mean that the people, I hope, on the Joint Finance Committee are hesitant to do that.”
Neubauer said that the multiple court cases challenging JFC’s enhanced authority could also help with the issue.
“We’ve already seen one decision from the Supreme Court that said that they had overstepped, and there are other cases moving through,” Neubauer said. “I think that’s a good thing, and it makes me hopeful that Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee will no longer be able to act as sort of another Legislature in preventing the implementation of these programs that have already been passed and already been signed.”
Beyond budget priorities, Neubauer said that the caucus is continuing to think about other longer term issues — including legalizing marijuana, addressing gun safety, protecting abortion rights, addressing climate change, ensuring everyone has access to clean drinking water and public safety reforms — but she expects some of those will require a Democratic majority.
Neubauer said that Democrats are always working towards the majority in the Assembly, and she thinks the last election laid the groundwork for a Democratic takeover in two years. She noted there could be the opportunity for a Democratic trifecta in that election cycle.
“We’ve got strong candidates that ran this cycle, many of whom want to run again. We really built our grassroots infrastructure in communities where we haven’t had competitive districts for quite some time, and I think we learned some things about how to run such a big program with so many candidates under these fair maps,” Neubauer said.
Underly accepted the 2024 Diversity Award from the State Council on Affirmative Action on behalf of her agency. (Screenshot via Wisconsin DOA YouTube)
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly became tearful Friday while speaking about a friend she knew in high school, who was kicked out of her home after coming out as gay to her parents.
“Her parents were furious. They said it went against everything they believed, everything they hoped for her, and when she started to cry her dad said, ‘I want you to give us the key’ and she said, ‘My key? My key to my car?’ and her mom chimed in and said, ‘No, the key to our house.’” Underly said, adding that the friend had to stay on another friend’s couch.
“When I saw her at school, she was so tired and worried. She said she missed her dog. She missed her bed. She missed her brother,” Underly said. “What this story teaches us is the critical lesson — inclusion begins at home. Our families play a critical role in fostering an environment of love and acceptance for everyone and other identities. But what about our schools? What about our teachers?”
Underly was accepting the 2024 Diversity Award from the State Council on Affirmative Action on behalf of her agency. She noted that many Wisconsin children are continuing to deal with mental health challenges with students of color and LGBTQ+ students facing disproportionate challenges.
“There’s so many kids who cannot be themselves at home, so they see school as that safe place of belonging,” Underly said.
The council established the Diversity Award in 2000 to “recognize state agencies, Wisconsin Technical Colleges and UW campuses for their strong commitment to the recruitment, retention and promotion of a diverse workforce as measured by the creation of programs, initiatives and practices.”
This year DPI received the award because of its work on its 2024-26 Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. The agency developed the plan in accordance with Executive Order 59, which Gov. Tony Evers signed in 2019. The order requires state agencies to create equity and inclusion plans and other strategic plans, analyze how much is spent by agencies for DEI activities, including for staffing, and review reported outcomes resulting from DEI activities.
DPI’s plan laid out the current status of diversity of the agency and laid out specific goals and actions that it could take to improve equity and inclusion, including addressing disparities throughout its hiring process, improving retention of staff from underrepresented and historically marginalized groups and fostering an inclusive community and creating a culture that is “respectful, free of bias and where accountability is present at all levels of the agency.”
“While a significant portion of public school students identify as being of color or of mixed races, a much smaller percentage of DPI staff and teachers reflect this diversity. Addressing this imbalance is vital,” the plan states. “To effectively serve all students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, it is crucial to enhance staff diversity throughout the educational system, from the DPI down to individual classrooms.”
The plan notes that among 576 permanent DPI employees in 2021-2023, an average of 11% were staff of color, 18% had disabilities and 3% were veterans.
One way the agency could improve its workforce diversity is by increasing outreach to and visibility of the state application and hiring process for DPI positions, the plan suggests.
Underly thanked Gov. Tony Evers for his dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion in her speech and said the award is a “testament to the dedicated efforts that the team at DPI, who built and continue to implement our equity and inclusion plan with passion and purpose.”
“We aren’t afraid of the politics, and we will support diversity. We will support equity. We will support inclusion and we will support belonging for employees, for our teachers across the state and for every single child,” Underly said.
The celebration of the agency’s DEI efforts comes in a year when efforts to foster diversity have been increasingly targeted by Republicans in the state. In May, Republicans launched an audit to look at DEI initiatives throughout state government, including to determine specific activities that are being performed in compliance with Executive Order 59.
At the time, Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay) called DEI a “neo-Marxian philosophy meant to pit one socially-constructed class against another,” and said that Evers’ executive order “divided Wisconsinites into identity groups against each other’s benefit.”
DPI’s interim communications director Chris Bucher told the Examiner in an email Friday that it “would probably be safe to assume” that similar efforts will come forward next legislative session as “some continue to seek to divide instead of bring us together.”
“All kids belong in Wisconsin’s schools, no matter their background, and our schools are some of the most diverse places. As you have seen with bills and rhetoric the last few legislative sessions, promoting inclusion and belonging in our schools has been coined by some as a negative thing,” Bucher wrote.
Bucher said the work of the department would not be affected by efforts to “minimize the unique backgrounds and perspectives of kids in our schools and meet their individual needs,” and that that the department would continue to advocate for inclusion.
“Our diversity is a strength, and as the needs of kids continue to grow, finding ways to improve belonging in our schools is critical,” he said. “We will continue advocating for our diverse schools to be places where all perspectives are welcome, and the provisions outlined in Dr. Underly’s budget proposal are a good starting point in achieving our goals.”
Underly has proposed spending an additional $4 billion for education, including increasing the state’s share of funding for special education, creating additional mental health supports, and implementing free school meals for all students and early literacy initiatives.
Committee co-chair Sen. Julian Bradley noted that many of the issues discussed will need continued discussion from lawmakers and members of the public in the future as AI continues to develop and become a bigger part of Wisconsinites’ lives. (Screenshot via WisEye)
A Wisconsin study committee met Thursday to discuss regulation of artificial intelligence as well as investments in AI that it will recommend to the state Legislature.
The committee includes four lawmakers — Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake), Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit) — as well as eight members of the public. Members have been meeting monthly since July to hear from an array of stakeholders about the ways that AI is currently being used in the state, issues that have or could arise from the technology and ways to address those and how the state could capitalize on potential benefits.
The study committee is the latest effort as Wisconsin government and business leaders attempt to confront increased use of and ongoing advancements of AI technology. Gov. Tony Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos both organized task forces in the last year to address the issue.
Bradley, the committee’s co-chair, noted at the end of the meeting that many of the issues will need continued discussion from lawmakers and members of the public as AI develops and becomes a bigger part of Wisconsinites’ lives. The committee is considering recommending an ongoing and more permanent body that will continue looking into AI after members end their work this year.
“I believe that a lot of these start with an ongoing committee. There’s a lot of things that say we need to continue to explore … because the technology is changing,” Bradley said. “Things are changing constantly, so we want to be able to have public members with the Legislature come together and say, ‘Hey, maybe not yet,’ or ‘OK, it’s time now.’ ”
A final report with recommendations for lawmakers will be put together in coming weeks.
Potential regulations and state uses
The committee considered a number of proposals during the meeting for regulating the use of artificial intelligence, protecting consumers and exploring how state government will interact with the existence of AI.
One of the first proposed concepts was to apply existing state laws to AI models in the same way the laws apply to humans, including when it comes to disinformation, impersonation and creating and distributing fake imagery.
“Anything that’s illegal for a human, should be illegal for AI — as a general principle,” CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition Kathy Henrich said during the meeting.
Wisconsin has already enacted two laws that regulate the use the AI: 2023 Wisconsin Act 123, which requires disclosure of the use of generative AI in political ads, and 2023 Wisconsin Act 224, which made it a crime to possess virtual child pornography and obscene material, including that created with generative AI.
Henrich acknowledged that this could be a complicated issue because any law would need to be able to determine a liable party.
“Is it the developer? The deployer? The consumer?” Henrich said. “The devil will be in the details of making sure we’ve really thought through how you hold people accountable and where that accountability lies.”
Sarah Alt, the chief process and AI officer for Michael Best, said the question of accountability for new technology is not a new dilemma, but it is complex because of how quickly AI has developed.
Aly also proposed that the Legislature enact a couple of laws related to data privacy.
Wisconsin considered a bill, 2023 Assembly Bill 466, that would have established certain requirements for “controllers and processors” of consumers’ personal data, including confirming what information they have, obtaining that data and requesting the deletion of data. It also included financial penalties of a forfeiture of up to $7,500 per violation. Three states, including Colorado, Connecticut and Utah, enacted similar data privacy laws in 2023.
Alt said that data is a “crucial raw material for artificial intelligence.”
“If we’re not going to be able to legislate every possible use case … I do believe data is certainly one of the places where we would declare that to be no different than other raw materials that are regulated,” Alt said. She compared data to asbestos, saying, “there are safe ways that you can use asbestos and there are also very harmful ways that you can use asbestos.”
Jay Hill, Vice President of Advanced Technology for GE Healthcare, agreed that this type of regulation could help keep people accountable for how data is used.
“If it’s free, then people could do all sorts of crazy and exploitative things, but if there’s some cost to it, I think it elevates the level of responsibility for people who will use those data,” Hill said.
Alt also said that lawmakers should look at resurrecting a bill similar to 2023 Wisconsin AB 824, which would have defined various roles and laid out a set of responsibilities for people or groups that own, control and share personal data.
Members also discussed three other issues that lawmakers could explore including requiring the labeling of communications that use AI, possible bias embedded in the algorithms of large language models and requiring companies to publish clear AI guidelines and principles.
Anderson said that he thought that requiring disclaimers of AI when communicating with the public would be best practice.
“I think I’m pretty good at discerning when AI is being used or not, but I think of my dad, who’s definitely not capable of determining what’s AI and what’s not. … So, just making sure we’re protecting the public, so they’re aware,” Anderson said.
Henrich cautioned that legislation such as that could potentially set a bad precedent by discouraging people from using their own discernment skills to determine whether AI was used.
“If you legislate that you mark things as AI, people will get trained to believe that anything that’s marked as AI is AI, and anything that isn’t is human,” Henrich said. “If I’m a bad actor, I’m more likely to not mark it and therefore I’m more likely to fall for bad actors who may be using AI in the wrong ways.”
Henrich said that lawmakers would also need to think about how that kind of legislation would be enforced.
Potential Investments in AI
The committee also considered potential areas where the state could invest to help support universities, technical colleges, businesses and other stakeholders in the ongoing education, innovation and integration related to AI.
One suggestion the committee could make is to expand Fast Forward, a program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that provides grants to employers to provide training to workers, and specifically dedicating funding to learning how to work with AI and requiring courses on computer science and statistics for students.
Henrich said an investment in teaching people skills related to AI could be essential as the technology may affect the job market and could come through the Fast Forward program and through technical colleges and universities.
“I’ve seen market dynamics in play, and as much as people want to say everyone will be employable long-term with AI, I am a firm believer that there’s disruption in the middle, that as AI is implemented normal market dynamics will go to saving costs and may result in people losing roles as a result of that,” Henrich said. “Investing up front and people understanding AI so that they maintain employable skill is going to be very critical.”
Henrich noted that there might need to be changes to the Fast Forward legislation to make it applicable to AI.
Two potential suggestions the committee discussed involve incentives for businesses, including tax breaks and a grant or revolving loan program.
Armstrong suggested that lawmakers could explore creating a program that would give small manufacturers an incentive to adopt automation and AI through a revolving loan fund or a small grant. He said he did a survey of small manufacturers in his part of the state and found that many aren’t really exploring the use of AI currently.
“Only 4% of them were even looking at AI right now,” Armstrong said. “A lot of them, when I started talking to them [said] we don’t even know where to start at this point. … They’re looking for somebody within a company to develop a curiosity about, what could AI do for us, and then I think you’d probably have a champion within that company that can run with it. This is more of a way to maybe jump-start that.”
Alt said she liked the concept of a revolving loan because of how quickly technology moves and the fact that a company would have to keep working on improvements.
“If your grant is one and done, then even if you do get what you needed that first time that you implemented it, there is still the constant tuning and the constant investing and the constant improving, and because the technology moves so quickly your idea is already old within months, if not a couple of years,” Alt said.
The full list of potential recommendations to lawmakers can be found here.
An empty high school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images)
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly, who is running for her second term in office with the backing of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, faces a challenge from Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright, a Democrat who says he wants to improve DPI’s communication.
Elections for the state superintendent are technically nonpartisan. Candidates run on the same ballot in the February primary, and the top two advance. The primary is Feb. 18, 2025 and the general election is April 1. No other candidates have entered the race so far.
Underly won her first term in a landslide in 2021, defeating her conservative opponent, a retired superintendent backed by Republican-leaning groups, in a campaign cycle where a record $3 million was spent on the race by candidates and outside special interest groups.
In her September campaign announcement, Underly highlighted some of her accomplishments, and said that students and staff need to be supported in Wisconsin.
At the helm of the agency, Underly has advocated for increased investments in public education in the state budget, including for special education funding, mental health resources, staff pay and more. She recently announced a budget request that would dedicate an additional $4 billion in state funds to public education. The DPI under her leadership also helped shape a law that reforms the way reading is taught in Wisconsin schools, though the Legislature has not released the money to support the changes despite Underly’s multiple urgings.
Jill Underly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Photo courtesy of Underly)
Underly also highlighted the ongoing politicization of schools in her statement. Throughout her tenure culture war issues have continued to divide voters at the state and local level and she has been an outspoken critic of efforts to cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to target LGBTQ+ staff and students.
“I’ve fought for kids and their teachers to be their true selves in school and stood up to ensure they see themselves represented in their curriculum and in their libraries,” Underly said in a September statement announcing her reelection campaign. “In a second term as superintendent, I want to make sure we continue to make necessary investments in our kids, as well as continue to examine how we evolve education to meet the challenges of the future.”
Prior to winning her first term in 2021, Underly served as the superintendent of Pecatonica School District, a rural district in southwestern Wisconsin. She has also previously worked as a principal, a teacher and a state consultant to Title I schools in Milwaukee and across the state.
Wright, who launched his campaign about a month after Underly, has served as the superintendent of Sauk Prairie School District since 2019 and was named Administrator of the Year in 2024 by the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance. He also previously served as a principal in Chicago. He hasn’t held public office before, but has run unsuccessful campaigns in 2016 and in 2018 for the state Assembly.
Wright said in an October interview with the Examiner that he probably aligns closely with the current superintendent on many issues, but he thinks there is currently a “disconnect” between DPI and schools.
“They’re not bringing the people together from the teachers’ union, the administrators’ associations and other groups to have an active conversation about what concrete steps are we taking right now to get this work done,” Wright said. “Schools want to know what’s happening at the DPI. We don’t want to be surprised by changes. We want to be in conversation so that it’s very clear that we’re working on the same team.”
Wright cited concerns about whether enough effort has gone into recruiting and retaining educators. He said that he’s also heard “palpable frustration” from educators about the change to standardized testing scores and the lack of communication with school districts about it. The agency lowered the proficiency threshold and changed the terms that are used to to describe student performance, which critics said made it difficult to make comparisons to previous years.
Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright. (Photo courtesy campaign)
Wright said that he would set himself apart from the current administration by trying to minimize partisanship. He said his district has tried to do this “by making sure that we’re listening to everyone and that we make sure that our doors aren’t closed to people, regardless of their opinion, especially if their children are in our schools.” He said that he hopes “it would also allow for more open conversations with legislators of all political stripes.”
Wright noted that DPI wasn’t invited to testify to the JFC during the last budget cycle.
“That hurts the DPI. It also hurts public education when we’re not having that open conversation between the agency charged with leading public schools and standing up for them and the legislators who are creating the budgets that do need to be rewritten,” Wright said. Underly did address lawmakers in person at one of the public hearings held by the committee in Eau Claire, but DPI was not invited to make its budget presentation to the Joint Finance Committee during the last budget process.
Wright said schools are also facing challenges as the current funding formula, including for special education, has made it difficult for schools to keep up with costs. He said that funding going to voucher schools “worries” him as well because “there aren’t enough resources for public schools at this point.”
Early supporters of Underly and Wright
Wright has said he was encouraged to run by educators and education professional associations. He did enter the race with a notable supporter — the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Political Action Committee.
The Wisconsin Education Association Council is the largest teacher’s union in the state, and its PAC, which aims to help elect “pro-public education” candidates to office, recommended Wright in the race. However, the endorsement process for the full union is ongoing, and it’s unclear when or if a full endorsement will come from the board.
WEAC spokesperson Christina Brey said the PAC’s recommendation is one part of the lengthy endorsement process and said she couldn’t comment on specifics.
“WEAC is in the process of exploring the candidates for state superintendent, and its political action committee has recommended its support of Jeff Wright; however, the process is still ongoing, with no determined timeline on whether or if a decision will be reached,” Brey said.
When asked about the specifics on why the PAC recommended Wright, Brey said she couldn’t comment. She also said she couldn’t speak to the relationship between Underly and the union over the last four years due to the ongoing endorsement process.
Brey told the Examiner that when it comes to the superintendent race, Wisconsin educators are looking for strong and bold leadership and someone that cares as much about students as teachers do. She said some of the issues at play include figuring out how to keep teachers and support staff, how to address the workplace environment, how to handle challenging student behaviors and how to address school funding challenges. She said members will be looking at many things, including policies that have been enacted over the past few years, how those policies have “shaken out” in the classroom, where candidates fall on those issues and who they think will be the best listener, advocate and partner.
Other Wright supporters, according to campaign manager Tyler Smith, include Jim Lynch, Executive Director of the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. Lynch told the Examiner in an email that the association’s process for endorsing candidates for state superintendent doesn’t begin until later this month, so he couldn’t speak for himself or the association until after the process.
Smith also named the superintendents of Mauston, Reedsburg, Stevens Point and Poynette school districts and the principals of Sauk Prairie High school and Sun Prairie School Board president as supporters.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Democratic Party endorsed Underly for a second term at the end of November. Party Chair Ben Wikler called her a “steadfast advocate” for students, parents and schools in a statement.
“From fighting to give rural school districts a seat at the table, to expanding mental health services in schools, to ensuring every school, teacher, and student has the resources they need to succeed, Dr. Underly is the proven leader we need championing our kids in the Department of Public Instruction,” Wikler said.
“At every step, Dr. Underly has had the backs of our kids, standing up to attacks on public education, libraries and LGBTQ+ youth, and ensuring that partisan attempts to divide Wisconsin do not undermine our state’s fundamental and uniting commitment to great public schools, available to all,” Wikler continued.
The state party’s endorsement prompted a strong response from Wright, who said it represented party “insiders” deciding to “ignore” the voices of teachers, administrators and other stakeholders and settling “for the division and mismanagement that have marked Superintendent Underly’s tenure, ignoring failures that are isolating DPI from discussions about the future of Wisconsin’s public schools.”
“Party leaders even ignored the voices of organized educators, a key member of the Democratic coalition, in making this endorsement,” Wright said.
The endorsement process for the state party was launched by two county parties — Waukesha and Milwaukee. Waukesha County Democratic Party Chair Matt Mareno said in a statement to the Examiner that the party was proud to put Underly’s name forward for the endorsement.
“We stood with her when she first ran, and in the years since she’s stood with us shoulder-to-shoulder as we’ve faced down far-right attacks on our public schools,” Mareno said. Schools in Waukesha County have dealt with a number of issues in recent years including becoming the target of a bomb threat and a threatened school shooting after a right-wing social media account publicized posts made by a local middle school principal, as well as books and songs being banned from schools.
“From book bans to bomb threats inspired by right-wing influencers, our community and schools have been through a lot,” Mareno said, “and Jill Underly has been there with us at every step fighting for a better future for our kids.”
Wisconsin Senate leaders announced their members of the Joint Finance Committee for next session Wednesday, including three Republicans new to the committee.
The powerful 16-person committee, which includes eight Assembly and eight Senate lawmakers, is responsible for crafting the state’s biennial budget. The state’s next budget will cover the period from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu announced that Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), Romaine Quinn (R-Cameron) and Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) will serve on the committee for the first time next session. The lawmakers will replace Sens. Joan Ballweg and Duey Stroebel, who will no longer serve on the committee because they lost their reelection bids, and Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), who won’t serve on the committee as she was recently elected by the Senate Republican caucus to serve as Senate president.
Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) will continue as the Senate co-chair of the committee. He has served in the position for the last two budget cycles. Sens. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), who will serve as vice-chair, and Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay) will also continue to serve on the committee.
Marklein celebrated the appointments in a statement, saying that the new members will “bring unique new perspectives and experiences to our Senate finance team.”
The state’s $4 billion budget surplus — and deciding what to do with it — will be a key discussion next session, and lawmakers, including those new to the committee, indicated that cutting taxes will likely be a top priority.
LeMahieu said in a statement that he is “confident the new Senate finance team will responsibly utilize our state’s $4 billion surplus to shrink the size of government and reduce the tax burden on hardworking Wisconsin families.”
“A top priority of mine will be releasing the $4 billion surplus that Governor Evers currently holds hostage and returning it to the taxpayers,” Bradley said in a statement.
“With a projected $4 billion surplus, the state is again in position to return more money back to the taxpayers and make further investments in our local roads, workforce development, and schools,” Stafholt said. “I look forward to getting to work.”
Democratic Senate members will remain unchanged next session as Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein announced that Sens. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) and Kelda Roys (D-Madison) will continue on the committee.
Hesselbein called the lawmakers “effective and passionate advocates for the priorities of Wisconsinites” and said that they “will continue to serve our caucus and state well during the budget process and beyond.”
Assembly members of the committee haven’t been announced yet.
Wisconsin State Capitol (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Former state Rep. Betty Jo Nelsen, who died on Oct. 17 at the age of 89, is being honored Monday with flags in Wisconsin being flown at half-staff.
Gov. Tony Evers issued the order last week, calling the former Republican representative “an exceptional example of a dedicated public servant, making history as the first woman to serve as minority leader in the history of our state legislature.”
Nelsen was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1979 after winning a special election to represent parts of northeastern suburbs of Milwaukee and served for six terms before resigning. During her time in the Legislature, she was elected in 1987 to serve as Assembly minority leader, making her the first woman to serve in the position. She also served on the Joint Finance Committee.
“In the weeks since her passing, our thoughts are with former Rep. Nelsen’s husband, Jim, her children, grandchildren, and all her loved ones as they mourn her loss and celebrate her incredible legacy,” Evers said in a statement. Funeral services for Nelsen are being held Monday in Milwaukee.
Nelsen resigned from the Assembly in 1990 to take up a position in former President George H.W. Bush’s administration as the administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1992, she was nominated to serve as the assistant secretary of agriculture for food and consumer services.
Following her time in the federal government, Nelsen returned to Wisconsin and was appointed by former Gov. Tommy Thompson to serve on the state Natural Resources Board. In addition to her years in government, Nelsen served her community in leadership positions at other organizations including Future Milwaukee, United Community Services, United Way, Girl Scouts of the USA and Junior League of Milwaukee.
“Known for a passion for public service and devotion to the well-being of her family, Betty Jo was an unapologetic but humble leader and trailblazer, driven by her concern for others and guided by high moral standards not often seen today,” Nelsen’s obituary states. “She always pushed for her own personal excellence and accountability, yet when achieved, she simply refused to discuss her roles, accomplishments, and awards. Instead, she quickly pivoted to a focus on YOU!”
School nutrition advocates say universal free meals could help improve the diets as well as the academic performance of more students. (Getty Images)
Wisconsin School Nutrition Association President Kaitlin Tauriainen says her goal has always been to feed every student.
“It seemed impossible for years, and then COVID happened,” said Tauriainen, who has worked in school nutrition for about 14 years and is also part of the Wisconsin Healthy School Meals For All Coalition. During the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented waivers that allowed schools across the country to serve free meals to all children. “Basically, we were forced into doing it, which was fantastic, and really proved that we were capable and that it was better — like we thought it was going to be.”
Tauriainen, who works as the child nutrition coordinator for the Ashwaubenon School District in Brown County, said there were less behavioral issues for the district then. She had observed earlier in her career at another school district how improved behavior could be the result of ensuring kids have access to food. She recalled a student who was eating free breakfast and free lunch, but still reported being hungry. Attending a different school that gave him more flexible access to food helped improve his situation, she said.
“He was so hungry all the time that he was just angry and causing disruptions. When they moved him to the charter school that gave him a little more flexibility and freedom to go make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich whenever he was hungry, he turned into a completely different kid,” Tauriainen said. “That’s what some of the teachers were seeing during COVID as well.”
The federal universal school meals program expired in June 2022 after Congress decided not to extend it. Ashwaubenon School District now charges students who don’t qualify under current guidelines for lunches, but it is able to provide breakfast to all students.
Dr. Jill Underly, shown here deliverying her annual State of Education address in 2023, is proposing that Wisconsin include funding for universal free meals at school in the next state budget. (Screenshot via WisEye)
Limiting behavioral problems is just one potential benefit of adopting universal school meals that Tauriainen and other advocates detailed to the Examiner. Other benefits include filling in gaps for students who may need the meals but don’t — or can’t — participate. Advocates say universal meals would level the playing field for students and ensure everyone has access to nutritious meals.
Last month, Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly visited Kenosha Unified School District to propose that Wisconsin join the eight states that provide school meals to all students.
Under her proposal, Wisconsin would dedicate an additional $290 million per biennium so students, regardless of their families’ income, are eligible for free breakfast and lunch. Her proposal includes an additional $21 million to support other aspects of school nutrition. Those include funding to expand participation in the school breakfast program to independent charter schools, residential schools and residential childcare centers; creating a program to encourage school districts to buy directly from local farmers and producers; and funding for programs to support access to milk.
“Access to food is one of the most basic human needs, and yet many Wisconsin kids are telling us they don’t know when — or if — they will have their next meal,” Underly said in a statement. “When we make sure all our kids are properly nourished, we are nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.”
Hunger and grades
Across Wisconsin, 45.4% of enrolled public schools students — or 782,090 students — participate in the USDA Child Nutrition Programs and 52.1% of enrolled students at private schools participating in the USDA Child Nutrition Programs, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
The current guidelines outline that students in a household of four, with income of $40,560 per year or less, qualify for free school meals. If a household’s yearly income is between $40,560.01 and $57,720, children can receive reduced-price meals. Families are also required to fill out an application annually in order to receive the benefit.
According to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one in four Wisconsin students reported experiencing hunger due to lack of food in the home and 2.6% reported going hungry “most of the time” or “always.” Students with low grades of D’s or F’s also reported going hungry at a higher rate — 10.3% of students — when compared their peers with higher grades of A’s or B’s — 2.3% of students.
There are a lot of children and families who are food-insecure but who don't actually meet the federal threshold for eligibility for free or reduced school meals.
– Jennifer Gaddis, UW-Madison professor who researches food systems in schools
Universal school meals would help fill in the gaps that the current system allows for, advocates said.
Kenosha Unified School District currently provides school meals to all kids free of charge.
“When we had to return to our traditional system of serving meals in the 2022-23 school year, we heard from families that they missed the simplicity and security of free meals for all,” KUSD Chief Communications Officer Tanya Ruder wrote in an email responding to questions from the Examiner.
This year every school in the district is able to provide lunch and breakfast to all students through the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The policy allows some high-poverty schools and districts to provide school meals to all students regardless of income and without having to fill out an application.
When meals were not universally free, the Kenosha district’s breakfast participation was 23.9%, and lunch participation was 43.8%, Ruder said. Since moving to CEP, those numbers have risen significantly, with breakfast participation now at 29%, and lunch at 55%.
Some families who qualified under the current system may find the application process an obstacle. “The application process is very daunting for some families,” Tauriainen said. “It’s a very simple form to fill out, but it’s just another thing that families have to do to get food to their kids when they might already be struggling.”
Higher incomes, but still hungry
The income requirements also mean that some families that may be struggling financially may not qualify, Tauriainen said, because the application doesn’t consider other circumstances that families may be dealing with.
“It doesn’t take into account anything other than your gross wages, so whatever your income is before taxes, doesn’t take into account any medical bills you may have, or other issues that you might have going on financially at home,” Tauriainen said.
Jennifer Gaddis, an associate professor at UW-Madison who researches food systems in schools, said a gap still exists for some students. “There are actually a lot of children and families, who are food-insecure, but who don’t actually meet the federal threshold for eligibility for free or reduced school meals,” Gaddis said.
Gaddis and Tauriainen said providing school meals for free would benefit students in many ways.
“School meals are literally the only thing that is economically means tested,” Gaddis said. “Everything else kids participate in, regardless of their household income status — like math class, English class, busing — they’re not being charged a different amount or getting a different service necessarily that is tied to their household income status.”
Providing meals to all students would reduce the stigma that the current system can create, she added.
School meal debt has also become an issue again as schools have gone back to requiring students to pay for lunch unless they qualify for free food. In Wausau, a pastor recently raised $26,000 to help pay off students’ unpaid meal debts. Madison Metropolitan School District in May reported that school lunch debt in the district stood at almost $230,000.
Ruder of Kenosha Unified said that providing meals free to all students would prevent them from being denied lunch or breakfast when their account funds run out.
Nutritional and academic benefits
Universal school meals could also allow many students to eat more nutritious food since school meals follow the federal dietary guidelines. Some studies have found that participation in school meals has been linked to healthier diets.
Students get their lunch at a primary school in Atlanta, Georgia. (Amanda Mills | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
“We get a bad rap, because people think of what school lunch used to be like back when they were in school, and things have changed so much since 2010,” Tauriainen said. “We’re offering whole grains, fruits and vegetables, multiple options every day, so that students pick something that they like to eat — low fat, low sodium, low sugar entrees.”
Tauriainen also noted that many school districts are trying to serve more food prepared from scratch and use more locally sourced foods for meals. Some school districts in the state serve food grown by the students, including Ashwaubenon School District, which has a 34-unit hydrophobic garden to grow lettuce.
Ensuring that kids are fed helps create a foundation for students to focus, study and be present in the classroom, producing stronger academic outcomes as well, Gaddis said.
Gaddis takes a historical and international comparative approach to studying school nutrition. Other countries with universal school meal programs, including Japan and Finland, have integrated school nutrition and home economics, she said, so students are “learning about, not only how to think about food and nutrition, but how to prepare things for yourself and how to do so in an economical way, and why you should also have respect for the people who are doing work in the food system.”
It’s an approach that addresses all students.
“It’s not seen as this anti-poverty program in those countries, it’s seen as a really integral part of the school day and an opportunity for people to learn really important life skills,” Gaddis said.
The Wisconsin proposal is part of Underly’s larger budget request, which would invest an additional $4 billion in schools.
It could face a tough road to becoming a reality given Wisconsin’s split government, where Republican lawmakers, who remain in the majority in the Legislature, have said they oppose growing “the size of government” and want to use most of the state’s budget surplus to cut taxes.
Tauriainen said she hopes universal school meals can gather bipartisan support, however.
“Being hungry shouldn’t be something that’s on one side or the other of the aisle,” Tauriainen said. “I really hope that the Legislature can come together and realize that this is something we really need to do for our kids.”
The Legislative Council Study Committee on Emergency Detention and Civil Commitment of Minors met Thursday to discuss draft bills. (Screenshot via WisEye)
A study committee considered proposals Thursday to create new long-term mental health facilities for youth, expanding who could initiate an emergency detention and changing consent requirements for minors over the age of 14.
Wisconsin children have been navigating significant mental health challenges in recent years, and the state has been exploring ways to improve support. The Legislative Council Study Committee on Emergency Detention and Civil Commitment of Minors, which includes four state lawmakers and other stakeholders, mental health providers, law enforcement, has been meeting since August to specifically focus on the current state of Wisconsin’s emergency detention and civil commitment laws as they applied to children.
Under state law, emergency detention is a process that allows law enforcement officers to initiate an emergency “hold” for up to 72 hours if they reasonably believe a person is unable or unwilling to cooperate with voluntary treatment. Civil commitment is the involuntary restriction of a person’s liberty by a civil proceeding on the basis that the individual is in need of treatment or care for certain mental health, developmental disability or substance dependency issues in order to protect the individual or others from harm.
The committee discussed six draft bills that would change the shape of the current processes. The committee will meet again in December to discuss the priorities further before voting on which bills should move forward for consideration by the Legislature.
“The idea here really is to roll up our sleeves and work together as a committee to turn these bill drafts into something that is workable, and that the Joint Legislative Council feels comfortable introducing in the next legislative session,” committee co-chair Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona) said at the beginning of the meeting Thursday.
One issue the committee has focused on is limiting the number of children with severe mental health challenges who are sent out of state for care. According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, from 2019 through 2023 there were 517 children placed out of state. Of those, 78 of them were placed out of state in 2023.
The committee discussed multiple bill draft variations that would help the issue by supporting the creation of psychiatric residential treatment facilities — or PRTFs — in Wisconsin. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has described them as long-term facilities that typically offer treatment for children diagnosed with psychiatric conditions, including bipolar disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, substance use disorders, severe emotional disturbance or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Wisconsin does have three youth crisis stabilization facilities, but those are short-term facilities with a maximum of eight beds. There are currently no PRTFs in the state.
James and Gov. Tony Evers both proposed initiatives for creating the facilities in the last legislative session but neither was successful.
The committee considered three variations of drafts that would allow for the creation of the facilities. The first would allow the Department of Health Services (DHS) to certify the facilities to provide inpatient psychiatric services for individuals under age 21. Another one would require DHS to establish five of the facilities. The final measure allows DHS to certify the facilities, to limit the number of certifications it grants to operate a PRTF and would require DHS to request $500,000 in each year of the 2027-29 biennial state budget for the purposes of implementing PRTF certification. Some of the specific numbers are placeholders and could change.
Committee members acknowledged the role that the cost of the facilities could play in whether they would be built. Sharon McIlquham, assistant corporation counsel for Eau Claire County, said that the facilities would need to be required by law.
“If DHS isn’t required to do it, it’s not going to happen because I don’t know that those incentives are going to be enough for a private entity to take on the liability, the cost,” McIlquham said. “I understand there’s a huge budget impact, but… if we don’t require them, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
“We don’t create things we can’t sustain,” Jill Chaffee, Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin’s vice president of community based services, said. “A really big issue that we have is that you have a grant and yes, that’s super helpful and appreciated to start a program, however, then you are fully dependent upon the billing of fee for service or different payers.”
Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) pointed out that securing state money could be the biggest obstacle to creating the facilities. Wisconsin is expecting to have a $4 billion budget surplus by the end of the current fiscal year and it will be a major point of discussion in the budget writing cycle next year, however, Republican leaders have cautioned that the money will not be used to grow the size of government.
“There is no money in the budget that specifically enforces…and we all understand why. They would have to rely on Joint Finance putting those funds, specifically for this cause, and as a member of Joint Finance, I can honestly say that we don’t always do what we are supposed to do or appropriate some money that we should,” Johnson said. “They’re already operating on a limited budget but then because of this bill, if it did go through, they would be forced to do with that limited budget and that jeopardizes other programs.”
Johnson added that the program is necessary but without a set dollar amount and the guarantee that the money will be allocated the proposal will face an uphill battle.
James agreed, saying that he doesn’t think any of their colleagues would be supportive of a mandate.
Changing minor consent requirements
Another proposal would amend the minor consent law when it comes to emergency detention.
Currently, state law requires that both a minor age 14 or older and the minor’s parent or guardian consents to outpatient or inpatient mental health treatment. If consent is declined by the parent or child, the other party may petition for review and approval of the treatment.
The proposal discussed by the committee would change this to instead say that either a minor age 14 or older, or a parent or guardian, may consent to outpatient or inpatient mental health treatment.
Green Bay Police Department behavioral health officer Sheila Carlson said the change is supposed to help address the issue of parents having to go home with a child if they refuse treatment and need to file a petition.
“Once kiddo goes home, that’s when things start to get a little hairy, where parents are concerned and not really sure what to do,” Carlson said.
Deputy State Public Defender Katie York said that she was concerned about whether not requiring consent could reduce the effectiveness of treatment.
“If the statute says you don’t need consent from the kid, is that going to encourage the practitioners to… not sufficiently seek consent, and is that going to negatively impact the treatment going forward? I would envision, if you can get buy-in from the kid, it’s going to be much more successful than, well, we don’t even need your consent, your parents signed off on it,” York said. “I don’t know if that works in the real world.”
Expanding who could initiate minor emergency detentions
The committee also considered creating an alternative way for initiating the emergency detention of a minor by allowing medical and behavioral health clinicians to initiate the emergency detention of a minor. Currently, only law enforcement officers are allowed to initiate the detention of someone an officer believes is “mentally ill, developmentally disabled or drug dependent” based on observable behavior that the individual is “dangerous” to themself or others, and a county department of community programs must approve the need for detention and the need for evaluation, diagnosis and treatment.
The draft that the committee looked at would define clinicians as a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, physician, physician assistant, private practice school psychologist, marriage and family therapist, professional counselor, advanced practice social worker, independent social worker, clinical social worker, clinical substance abuse counselor, or independent clinical supervisor. It would also require a “clinician” to be in good standing and may initiate an emergency detention only if the clinician has been certified to do so by DHS.
McIlquham of Eau Claire County said the list included in the draft was too broad and expansive.
“You start small and you can always expand it later,” McIlquham said.
Carlson of Green Bay, however, said that she has been involved in many cases with children where police aren’t necessarily needed.
Kids “are not combative,” she said. “They’re just reluctant, scared and confused, and then you bring in a cop and then there’s combative components to it.”
Wisconsin Psychiatric Association President Tony Thrasher noted that some health systems may not allow their employees to do it.
“I don’t think they’re going to take on the liability. I don’t think they’re going to agree to it.. Now that roughly 93% of all physicians are employed by large health systems, I just don’t think they’re going to let them do it. I think there’s a liability, once you start detaining them, that’s going to cause financial conflict and placement conflict, and if you’re allowed to detain them, why can’t you treat them where they’re at? How can you have the power to detain and then not care for them and ship them somewhere else?”
The committee also discussed a bill draft that would standardize the creation of a safety plan, which would be created by a minor with behavioral or emotional challenges and a facilitator, and then require DHS to develop and maintain a portal that is available throughout the state to facilitate sharing of safety plans among safety plan partners.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) speaking at a press conference before an April 25, 2023 floor session. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
A bolstered Assembly Democratic Caucus voted unanimously Tuesday to elect Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) to another term as Assembly minority leader. Her continued leadership was confirmed after Democrats gained 10 additional seats in the Assembly this year.
New electoral maps passed by the Republican Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers gave Democrats the chance to compete for more seats in newly competitive districts this November. While Assembly Republicans will hold a 54-seat majority next year, Assembly Democrats grew their caucus from 35 members to 45 members.
Neubauer has served as the leader of Assembly Democrats since 2021. She was first elected to the Assembly in 2018.
“Our caucus will return to the Assembly floor in January with ten new members — the largest increase in membership in one election in more than 50 years. The next session will present us with new opportunities and new challenges, and our work is cut out for us,” Neubauer said in a statement. “We will put forward a visionary and inclusive policy agenda. We will help craft a budget that works for every Wisconsinite, in every community. And we will reflect the will of the people.”
Other leaders in the Legislature were also reelected in the last two weeks with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) all chosen to continue in their positions.
Other members of Assembly Democratic leadership include:
Rep. Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee) as Assembly minority assistant leader
Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) as Assembly minority caucus chair
Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit) as Assembly minority vice-caucus chair
Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) as Assembly minority caucus secretary
Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) as sergeant-at-arms
State Superintendent Jill Underly proposed a grant program to help support clean water in schools. Underly with Madison La Follette High School Principal Mathew Thompson and Madison Public School District Superintendent Joe Gothard in September. (Ruth Conniff | Wisconsin Examiner)
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly is proposing the creation of a grant program to support Wisconsin schools in upgrading water fountains to control for lead and other contaminants.
Underly made the announcement Thursday at Cooper Elementary in Superior, and it’s the latest in her growing budget proposal, which will be released in full later this month. She proposed other budget measures Monday that would dedicate over $3 billion to public education for an array of priorities, including increasing the state reimbursement to school districts for special education costs to 90%.
“It is critical that Wisconsin kids have access to clean drinking water, and schools are a big part of that,” Underly said in a statement. “Funding provided through my budget meets that need and allows schools to have the latest drinking water equipment available to their students.”
Lead exposure can lead to lifelong damage to the brain and other bodily systems for anyone, but is particularly damaging for children under age 6. Wisconsin schools aren’t required to test for lead in their drinking water, but in recent years, some schools have found elevated levels of lead in water coming from fixtures in buildings during voluntary testing.
Under the proposal, the department would dedicate $2.5 million towards the grant program to help schools in modernize water fountains and ensure students have access to clean drinking water. Underly said her budget proposals, including the grant program, put “Wisconsin kids first.”
“By investing in things like expanding access to healthy meals at no cost to families, increasing school mental health services, supporting districts in retaining high-quality teachers, and improving early literacy outcomes, we are moving Wisconsin forward,” Underly said.
State agencies’ proposals are just the first step in Wisconsin’s budget process. The agencies will deliver their budget requests to the Department of Administration’s State Budget Office. The requests will then be delivered to Gov. Tony Evers, who will create his own budget proposal. Evers’ proposal will then be sent to the Wisconsin State Legislature, which will write the budget bill over the course of several months before voting on it and sending it to Evers to sign or veto.
With the state’s $4.6 budget surplus, Democrats are seeking to invest more money in an array of priorities, including public education.
Republican lawmakers, who hold majorities in the Senate and Assembly, appear to be opposed to the size of Underly’s proposals. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said this week that it is not a “serious” proposal.
“We have plenty of money to still invest in our priorities, but it’s going to be nowhere near what she proposed,” Vos said.
Senate Democrats at a press conference on Nov. 12. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
With elections over, the Wisconsin State Legislature is beginning to organize itself for the coming term. Assembly Republicans reelected Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) Tuesday to serve another term in the position and Senate Democrats reelected Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) as Senate minority leader.
Vos is the longest serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, having first been elected to the position in 2013. He was challenged Tuesday by Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) but held on to the top position. The caucus was closed to press, and the vote count wasn’t shared.
Vos will continue in the position with a smaller caucus after Democrats won 10 additional seats this month. He said that Wisconsin’s split election results are a message that voters want lawmakers to “focus on what’s important to them.”
“If you talk to most folks, they know the price of groceries. They know that rent is higher, and the cost of just about everything is higher,” Vos said. “We have a record surplus… we are not in a rush to spend that.”
Democrats in the Assembly and Senate were able to compete more closely for seats because of new voting maps in Wisconsin that went into effect this year. The maps were passed by Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in February after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the previous maps were an unconstitutional gerrymander. Republicans have held a majority in the state Legislature since 2011.
Speaker Robin Vos speaking about leadership elections at a Nov. 12 press conference. (Screenshot vis WisEye)
Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth), who was elected to another term in his leadership position, said Democrats had an “atrocious” election night after the new, more competitive voting maps were “engineered to put themselves in the majority.”
When asked whether he would approach the job any differently with the slimmer margins, Vos said the caucus would still be seeking to get “consensus” from the majority of its members before bringing proposals to a vote, and that for some issues it could be harder to bring proposals forward. For example, he said a proposal on an issue such as legalizing medical marijuana could be more difficult.
“Reducing the size of government, not expanding welfare, making sure we invest in our priorities, returning the surplus back to taxpayers — I think the vast majority of things that we put on the table will be things that all 54 people in our caucus will unite behind,” Vos said.
Lawmakers will spend considerable time in the coming months debating the next two-year state budget and how to use the state’s $4.6 budget surplus. Assembly Republicans said they want to cut taxes as a way of returning the money to Wisconsinites and don’t want to grow the size of government.
Vos said the budget surplus only exists because Evers vetoed Republicans’ tax cut proposals in the last budget, and that one proposal they will likely look at again is a tax cut for retirees. He also said the proposal put forth by Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly to dedicate an additional $4 billion to public education in the state budget wasn’t “serious.”
Other members of the Assembly Republican leadership include:
Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) will serve as assistant majority leader.
Rep. Kevin Peterson (R- Waupaca) will serve as speaker pro tempore.
Rep. Rob Summerfield (R- Bloomer) will serve as caucus chair.
Rep. Cindi Duchow (R-Town of Delafield) will serve as caucus vice-chair
Rep. Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi) will serve as caucus sergeant-at-arms.
Rep. Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah) will serve as caucus secretary.
Hesselbein leads Senate Democrats
Hesselbein will lead Senate Democrats again in the upcoming term. She was first elected to the leadership position in December 2023 to replace Sen. Melissa Agard, who was just elected to serve as Dane County Executive.
Senate Democrats are entering next year with four additional members to the caucus, including Jodi Habush Sinykin, Sarah Keyeski, Jamie Wall and Kris Alfheim. That increases the number of Democratic-held seats to 15 and cuts the Republican majority to 18 seats.
Hesselbein said she was “absolutely devastated” that President-elect Donald Trump won a second term in office and carried Wisconsin, however, she said that her growing caucus is proof that Democrats worked hard and won over voters. She added that Senate Democrats have a path to winning a majority in 2026 when the odd-numbered Senate seats will be up for election.
“This is the state of Wisconsin. Just a few years ago, [on] the same night we elected Tony Evers and Ron Johnson,” Hesselbein said. “This is nothing new to the state, but going forward in two years, it’ll be a new dawn and a new day.”
Until then, Hesselbein said that she is looking forward to more conversation and compromise with Republicans going forward.
“Right now, we’re sitting on billions of dollars in our state coffers. A record number of schools this year went to referendum because we’re not funding schools adequately,” Hesselbein said. “We need to stop that trend and we need to fund K-12 schools in the state of Wisconsin. We need to be investing in public universities and our technical colleges, working to keep tuition affordable.” She also promoted investing in young families, infrastructure, transportation systems and protecting the state’s natural resources.
“We will fight tirelessly to get that job done,” Hesselbein said.
Her “door is open” for Republican lawmakers, she said.
Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) was elected to continue serving as assistant minority leader, Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D- Beloit) was elected to serve as caucus chair and Sen.-elect Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee) was elected to serve as caucus vice-chair.
Last week Senate Republicans reelected Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who has led the caucus since 2021. Assembly Democrats plan to meet next week to hold leadership elections.
An empty high school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images)
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly is proposing Wisconsin increase state public school funding by at least $3 billion, including by increasing the special education reimbursement for public schools.
Underly outlined the proposal Monday, and it comes as Wisconsin schools have been increasingly turning to voters to help fund rising costs. Last week, Wisconsin voters passed over 78% of school referendum requests.
“Wisconsin’s public schools have been asked to do more with less for too many years — and the upcoming biennial budget presents a critical opportunity to make meaningful change and support the future of our kids,” Underly said in a statement announcing the proposals on Monday. “My budget proposal reinvests in public education and upholds the responsibility of our state: To ensure our schools have the resources they need to ensure the success of our kids. By providing sustainable funding to our public schools and creating new, innovative ways to meet families’ needs, our educators can continue providing high-quality education to all kids.
The proposal includes raising the state’s reimbursement for special education costs to 75% in 2026 and to 90% in 2027 — providing about $2 billion to schools over the biennium. Private voucher schools in Wisconsin already receive a 90% reimbursement rate.
The budget request also includes indexing school revenue limits to inflation — restoring a principle that was last used in 2009-10 — and increasing public schools’ revenue limits by $425 in fiscal year 2026 and by $437.75 in fiscal year 2027 — providing an additional $1 billion over the biennium.
At the same time, Underly said her proposal would limit school districts’ property tax increases to an average of 1.5%.
DPI Communications Director Chris Bucher explained in an email to the Examiner that the agency is “proposing both increasing the revenue limit, and then funding that with state dollars.”
“Funding the revenue limit increase has the practical effect of preventing schools from increasing property taxes, due to the revenue limit increase, unless they go to referendum,” Bucher said. “It’s not just a hope and a wish. Schools are effectively prevented from increasing property taxes due to the revenue limit by more than about 1.5% average over the biennium.”
Other proposals include expanding per-pupil categorical aid program payments from $750 to $800 in 2026 and to $850 in 2027, as well as providing an additional 20% for students in poverty; providing $20 million for the out-of-school-time grant program; and reimbursing local education agencies for unaided costs of providing mandated special education services to children with disabilities in early childhood education.
Over the last month, Underly has also announced other proposals, including investing nearly $60 million to help school districts resolve staffing challenges and retain teachers, $42 million proposal to support early literacy initiatives, $311 million for school nutrition and $304 million to support Wisconsin youth mental health.
Democratic lawmakers responded positively to the proposals, saying they will benefit students.
“For the love of Wisconsin kids, teachers, and schools, let’s get it done,” Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) said.
Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), who is a member of the Joint Finance Committee, encouraged her colleagues to support and help pass the proposal in a statement.
“Public schools are struggling under harsh state levy limits, forcing districts to repeatedly go to referenda to recruit and retain great teachers and to give every student a good education,” Roys said. “This is a budget proposal that finally puts our kids and our schools first, while helping take the burden off of local taxpayers.”
Whether the proposals will actually become law is unclear. The Legislature will have a larger share of Democrats in the upcoming legislative session after the first elections under maps drawn to be more competitive for both parties. Democrats have said that the change will lead to more negotiations with Republican lawmakers over the shape of the budget.
However, Republicans still hold a majority of seats in both chambers, with a 54-45 GOP majority in the Assembly and an 18-15 majority in the Senate.
Leaders of Senate and Assembly Republicans have said given the state’s budget surplus that tax cuts will be a top priority for them.
Update: This story was updated Tuesday with additional comment from DPI.
Justice Jill Karofsky appeared immediately opposed to attorney Matthew Thome’s proposed interpretation Wisconsin's 1849 law with regard to abortion. (Screenshot via Wiseye)
Several of the Wisconsin Supreme Court liberal justices appeared opposed to the enforcement of a 174-year old law when it comes to abortion during oral arguments Monday in a high-profile case meant to clarify law in the state.
Wisconsin abortion law has been unsettled since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, sending decisions about abortion legality back to states. Health care providers in Wisconsin immediately ceased providing abortion care due to the state’s 1849 law. Attorney General Josh Kaul and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers filed a lawsuit challenging the statute in June 2022, arguing that it had been superseded by other laws passed by the state, including a ban on abortions after 20 weeks enacted in 2015, and could not be enforced as applied to abortions.
Access ceased for 15 months until a Dane County judge ruled in December 2023 that the law applies to feticide, not abortion, allowing providers to resume services. Sheboygan District Attorney Joel Urmanski, a defendant in the case, appealed the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and Kaul also wanted a review of the decision from the Court. Milwaukee County DA John T. Chisholm and Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne are also defendants in the case, but both oppose enforcing the law.
The pre-Civil War Wisconsin statute states that any person “other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child is guilty of a Class H felony” and that any person who “intentionally destroys the life of an unborn quick child” is guilty of a Class E felony. It specifies that “unborn child” is defined as “a human being from the time of conception until it is born alive. It includes no exceptions for rape or incest or specific medical complications. The only exception for the law is the life of a mother.
Urmanski’s attorney, Matthew Thome, defended the enforcement of the statute Monday morning, saying lawmakers never repealed it. Republican lawmakers have proposed updates to the 1849 law in the last two years, including a 14-week abortion ban, but the proposals have failed to become law.
“Policymakers have not repealed it. Indeed, they have expressly declined to do so at multiple opportunities and until they do, it can be enforced,” Thome said.
He argued that the question over whether Wisconsinites would be “better served” by a different law is not for the Court to decide.
Justice Jill Karofsky appeared immediately opposed to Thome’s proposed interpretation of the law.
“Just to be clear, a 12-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted by her father, and as a result became pregnant under your interpretation [of the law], she would be forced to carry her pregnancy to term, correct?” Karofsky asked.
“Under the policy choice the Legislature made…, that would be correct,” Thome said.
“So in that case, a child would be forced to deliver a baby,” Karofsky said.
Karofsky pushed the point, asking about the consequences of a victim of sexual assault seeking an abortion under the law if it were enforceable.
“How about a woman who is a college freshman here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison? If she is sexually assaulted and it’s charged as a third degree sexual assault… that would be intercourse without consent. If she became pregnant, as a result of the sexual assault, it would be illegal for her to obtain an abortion?” Karofsky said.
“Correct, it would be illegal for a doctor to provide an abortion to her in the state of Wisconsin,” Thome said.
Attorney Matthew Thome defended the enforcement of Wisconsin’s 1849 statute as an abortion ban Monday morning, saying lawmakers never repealed it. (Screenshot via WisEye)
“If her assaulter is charged…, he would be facing a 10-year maximum imprisonment because that would be a Class G felony,” Karofsky said. “In that case, the penalty for aborting, after a sexual assault, would be more severe than the penalty for the sexual assault.”
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that since the Dobbs decision more than 64,000 pregnancies have been cause by rape in states with abortion bans.
“I fear what you are asking this Court to do is to sign the death warrants of women and children and pregnant people in this state because under your interpretation they could all be denied life-saving medical care while the medical professionals who are charged with taking care of them are forced to sit idly by,” Karofsky said. “This is the world gone mad.”
Justices also asked about the web of laws passed in the state, and appeared to disagree with Thome’s argument that the 1849 law completely negates them.
“We have statute after statute that you are somehow asking us to just absolutely ignore in your interpretation,” Justice Rebecca Dallet said. “We have a statute that talks about when an abortion can be performed and that’s after 20 weeks. We have a 24-hour waiting period. We have informed consent provisions. We have a ban on what they label to be partial birth abortion.”
Dallet asked Thome how he reconciles the 1849 statute with the later statute passed in 2015 that prohibits abortion after 20 weeks and the other laws related to abortion.
“I fit those things together… because that statute doesn’t say you can have an abortion,” Thome said.
Justice Brian Hagedorn appeared to agree that the 1849 law applies to abortion, and said later laws don’t negate it.
“It’s a matter of straight reasonable statutory interpretation,” Hagedorn said. “The law’s still there. It’s still there. The judiciary doesn’t get to edit laws. The judiciary doesn’t get to rewrite them. We didn’t delete it. We prevented its enforcement now, it’s still there.”
Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Hannah Jurss, who represented Kaul, argued that there was an “implied repeal” of the 1849 law, when lawmakers passed other statutes regulating abortion access in the state.
“The standard implied repeal rule is it’s the earlier law that falls and there’s nothing in the text of the Wisconsin statutes… that would say disregard all of that, and instead in the event of Roe being overturned go back to 940.04, and we know state Legislatures knew how to do this because… a number of states enacted trigger bans,” Jurss said. “Wisconsin did not.”
Kaul said at a press conference following the arguments that the Legislature should take up some of the other laws related to abortion access in the state, no matter the outcome of the lawsuit.
“There are now relatively narrow majorities for Republicans in the state Legislature,” Kaul said. The Assembly is now a 54-45 Republican majority, while the Senate is an 18-15 Republican majority. “It is very clear that Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support having safe access to abortion in the state. For those legislators in these districts that are very moderate, where those districts could go either way, I think we ought to ask those folks, do they support some common sense changes that will protect access to abortion care in Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has also agreed to hear a second lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin against Urmanski, which asks the Court to find that the state Constitution’s right to equal protection grants a right to receive an abortion and a doctor’s right to provide one.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Friday that the Department of Justice is prepared to “defend” the rights of Wisconsinites. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
In the wake of former President Donald Trump winning a second term this week, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Friday that the Department of Justice is prepared to “defend” the rights of Wisconsinites.
Kaul didn’t specify what that would look like, however, and said it would depend on what actions Trump takes once he enters office.
Kaul joins Democratic state leaders from across the country, including in Washington State and Illinois, in announcing how they will handle the potential policy changes that could come from the new Trump administration. Kaul said that the justice department would continue to continue to work with other attorneys general to confront challenges that arise. On the state level, he said the department will advocate for necessary funding for the Office of School Safety, state crime labs and for victim service programs that are facing severe federal budget cuts across the state and country.
“We have been tested in this office… If the new administration infringes upon the freedoms of Wisconsinites or attempts to use our system of justice as a tool for vengeance, we will act,” Kaul said. “We will act to protect the best interests of the people of the state of Wisconsin, we’ll act to uphold equal justice under the law.”
Kaul said future actions will depend on the path the new administration takes. He said that he hopes Trump administration officials will try to find common ground and work across the aisle.
Kaul said it’s “notable” Trump distanced himself from Project 2025, and said he would veto a national abortion ban and wouldn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act. Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation document that was described as a blueprint for the next Republican administration.
The attorney general said there are “justified concerns” the administration will take another path, however.
“Folks are worried about what the future holds for women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions, about access to affordable health care more broadly, and about whether people may be targeted by the new administration based on their identity, their speech and their viewpoints, or simply doing their jobs as an election worker or a reporter,” Kaul said. “Those kinds of actions are wrong and we are committed at the Department of Justice to standing up against them.”
Doesn’t provide ‘false hope’ on abortion
Kaul said his department continues to defend abortion access while it remains in the hands of states. After being blocked for more than a year following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, access to abortion for pregnancies up to 20 weeks was restored Sept, 18, 2023 by a court order. In a case brought by Kaul challenging the state’s 1849 law, which had been interpreted as an abortion ban, a Dane County judge ruled the law did not broadly apply to abortion.
On Monday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case,that asks if the state’s 1849 law actually bans abortion and whether the state Constitution protects abortion.
While Trump has said he would not sign legislation banning abortion nationwide and Republicans in congress have denied any intention to enact such a ban. But reproductive rights advocates have pointed to provisions in the Project 2025 document calling for a blanket national ban.
Depending on how such a law is written, Kaul warned that there might not be a path under current law to protect abortion access.
“The passage of a federal abortion ban would have enormous consequences for abortion access in Wisconsin and in other states where there currently is access,” he said. “I don’t want to give people false hope that if there is a federal abortion ban passed that there’s likely to be a successful legal challenge. On the contrary, if Congress does pass a ban, people are looking at having their access to safe and legal abortion taken away.”
On potential for National Guard being used for deportations
Asked about Trump’s comments during the campaign that he would use the National Guard to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Kaul said that he thinks the “idea of having a National Guard from one state going into another state is not something that… I think most governors of either party want to see.” Only governors can activate the National Guard, but one of Trump’s top policy architects, Stephen Miller, has said that sympathetic Republican governors would send troops to nearby states whose governors refuse to participate.
“We are one nation and following an election, we should try to come together, find common ground and figure out how we can make progress — not divide people state by state based on National Guards,” Kaul said.
It remains to be seen, however, “what rhetoric from the campaign translates into policy actions,” he said.
“There are a lot of different issues that were raised in the campaign, and I think we could see very different approaches taken by this Administration,” Kaul said. He also noted that there has been some pushback from Republican lawmakers on the promises, pointing to comments from Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson that mass deportations were not realistic and that deportation actions should target only those who have committed crimes.
Trump said Thursday, however, that it isn’t “a matter of price tag” and there is “no choice” when it comes to his deportation plans.
Aware of racist texts
Kaul was asked about a wave of racist texts instructing people to report to the “nearest plantation” have been sent nationwide, including to a Milwaukee woman, following the election.
Kaul said the department was aware of the messages and called them “completely unacceptable.”
“Anybody making racist statements, bigoted statements and text messages is something we cannot tolerate,” Kaul said. “I encourage anybody who has information about those texts to contact local law enforcement.
With voters raising taxes on themselves to help fund schools, public school advocates are calling for better investment from the state of Wisconsin for public schools. Students, parents, teachers and advocates joined a rally to increase funding for schools in the Wisconsin state budget at the Capitol on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)
Wisconsin voters approved 78% of school referendum funding requests across the state this week, raising taxes on themselves to grant schools over $3.4 billion for infrastructure and operations, including staff pay increases, program offerings and maintenance costs.
A total of 121 school districts put funding referendum questions on the ballot that combined sought more than $4.2 billion. According to the Department of Public Instruction, of the 138 referendum questions, voters approved 108.
Wisconsin Public Education Network leader Heather DuBois Bourenane said the organization was “thrilled” with the approvals. She said there were worries ahead of Election Day that voters were feeling “referendum fatigue” after about 60% of school funding requests passed in April.
“Voters spoke loudly and clearly, and they said, ‘we’re here to support our kids in their public schools, and yes, yes, we will pay that bill’,” DuBois Bourenane said.
DuBois Bourenane said the passage rate reflects that schools made responsible requests of voters and that school administrators and local teams formed to campaign for the referendum questions made sure voters knew what was at stake and the reasons for the requests.
The results reaffirm the widespread support for public schools across the state, she said, including from people across the political spectrum.
The results also come as Donald Trump, who has supported universal school choice, was elected to a second term as president and carried Wisconsin. Voters also reelected Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, an outspoken supporter of public schools, and returned a smaller Republican majority to the Legislature, where GOP lawmakers have worked to expand school choice.
“Wisconsin might have gone red in this election — that does not indicate a desire for more privatization or desire to abandon or destroy our public schools,” DuBois Bourenane said.
DuBois Bourenane and other school leaders said schools and their supporters are still working to advocate for better investment from the state of Wisconsin.
The largest referendum request in the state came from Madison Metropolitan School District, which asked voters for $507 million to fund renovations for two schools and to build eight new buildings. The building request won the support of 72% of school district voters. A second request, for $100 million in operational costs, including increases for staff salary and benefits, passed with 69% in favor.
“As excited as we are, we know that we still have much work ahead,” said MMSD Board President Nichelle Nichols and Superintendent Joe Gothard in a joint statement thanking voters. They added that it would probably not be the end of the district’s funding problems.
“Although the referenda have passed, it’s important for the community to know that we are still operating with a structural deficit. Our revenues are not keeping up with our costs,” they said. “We, along with other public school districts throughout the state, continue to be grossly underfunded by the state. Our team will come together and engage with the community to determine how to move forward and plan for the future.”
DuBois Bourenane said that where referendum questions failed to pass, some schools will struggle to meet costs.
“It’s awesome that 78% of our referendums passed, but for the 22% that didn’t — some of these districts are going to face a really, really tough year,” DuBois Bourenane said. “We need to not forget that when we’re forced to go to the ballot box to raise taxes on ourselves to fund our schools, some communities do and some communities don’t.”
When questions are rejected, “We’ve just widened another gap, and what we should be doing is demanding the state close those gaps, or level the playing field for every kid, instead of forcing us to compete against each other for scarce resources,” she added.
Reedsburg School District in Sauk County had split results on Tuesday. Voters approved a $14 million facilities referendum for improvements at its high school, but rejected the district’s $16 million nonrecurring operational referendum request.
In a Facebook post, Superintendent Roger Rindo thanked the community for approving the facilities referendum and promised regular updates on the progress of projects and a community open house to view renovations as projects are completed.
Rindo said he also respected the community’s rejection of the operational referendum, but added that there would be “difficult conversations around budget reductions and continuing to find ways to maximize operational efficiencies and ensuring that we maximize the dollars we have available to support our strategic directions.”
Rindo also said he would continue to press state lawmakers “for sufficient financial support from the state, including continued and consistent increases to the revenue limit, increases in flexible state aid, adequate support for Special Education, and an increase to the low-revenue ceiling” — the minimum limit on a school district’s per-pupil revenue.
“It is long past time that the state supported public education at a level that doesn’t put school districts in the position of continuing to ask their communities for additional funding,” Rindo said. “I hope you will join me in advocating with our elected officials.”
Wisconsin school districts have been increasingly relying on money approvedvia referendum to support local education. The state’s school revenue caps, which were first implemented in 1993, have not kept pace with inflation since 2009, leading schools across the state to regularly turn to voters to ask for additional funding.
State leaders also reacted to the results this week. Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly called for investments in schools, while a Republican lawmaker pushed back on that.
Underly said in a statement that the state Legislature has underfunded schools for over a decade, leading “a record number of districts going to referendum to try and fix severe financial constraints on their own.”
“Too many communities were forced to vote Tuesday on increasing property taxes just so their local schools can pay staff, heat and cool their buildings, and provide a quality education,” Underly said. “The upcoming biennial budget provides yet another opportunity for the legislature to uphold its responsibility to appropriately fund public schools, and to stop forcing Wisconsin communities to make impossible choices.”
Republican state Rep. Scott Allen of Waukesha, who won reelection on Tuesday, said in a statement that school referendums are “working.”
“These referendums keep the power and choice for how to spend tax dollars with people in local communities,” Allen said. “Instead of a one size fits all approach to the 421 school districts in our state, school referendums allow for local communities to weigh in on decisions that most affect them.” He said the results “proved that the will of the people does not always agree or align with the school administrators who want more taxpayer money.”
With Democrats gaining seats in both houses of the state Legislature Tuesday, narrowing the Republican majorities, public school officials and advocates will likely focus on asking for lawmakers to put more state money in public schools.
DuBois Bourenane said there is “an opportunity here to build some bridges, improve our relationships… and find some ways to come together for public funding in the next budget.”
“We’ve had 16 years in a row of budgets that didn’t even keep pace with inflation, and we have got to make a major dent in that trend this year …” DuBois Bourenane said. “From what I heard from candidates and both sides of the fence in this election cycle, there’s a pretty keen awareness of what that means, and it means doing something about the revenue limits that have been crippling our public schools for decades, and giving schools real, significant, spendable aid that’s adequate to meet their needs, and closing our special education gap.”
DuBois Bourenane said that increasing the special education reimbursement for schools to 90% — to match the reimbursement already provided to private voucher schools — from the current reimbursement rate of about 33% would be the “single most transformational thing” that could be done to help schools.
“It would free up districts to be able to use their actual state aid for the things that kids really need,” DuBois Bourenane said. School districts “wouldn’t have to tax so much at the local level if they could use their state aid for the things that they’re supposed to.”
DuBois Bourenane said she hopes newly elected lawmakers with backgrounds in public education, including Joe Sheehan, a former superintendent, Angelina Cruz, a teacher and president of Racine Educators United teachers union, and Christian Phelps, who has worked for WPEN, will be able to build relationships with legislators of both parties and be able to provide “critical context” for how education bills and budgets could affect students.
Login
