A teacher and students in a classroom. (Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images)
The race for Wisconsin state superintendent is shaping up with three candidates, including incumbent Superintendent Jill Underly and two challengers who filed their paperwork to run Monday.
The deadline for candidates to file their ballot access papers is Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Brittany Kinser, an educational consultant and former special education teacher and elementary school principal, is the most recent candidate to enter the race. She filed her paperwork to run in December, after initially saying she wouldn’t run, and announced in a press release Monday that she turned in over 3,500 signatures to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for her candidacy.
“This is just the start of our grassroots effort to demand the best education possible for our children,” Kinser said in a statement.
According to the release, Kinser is running on a platform of “ensuring students can read, write and do math skillfully,” and that she “wants to restore high academic standards and make sure students have the skills they need for good jobs after graduation.”
According to WisPolitics, Kinser has described herself as a “Blue Dog Democrat.” Most recently, Kinser has served as CEO of Kinser Consult. Prior to this, she was the president of the City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that advocates for school choice.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she previously worked as a special education teacher and instructional coach in Chicago Public Schools for eight years before starting with Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter schools with locations in Milwaukee, where she worked for 10 years, including as executive director.
Democrat Jeff Wright, superintendent of Sauk Prairie School District, said he turned in over 2,700 signatures to WEC on Monday. He announced his candidacy for the position in October.
During a press conference at WEC, Wright described himself as a “nonpartisan problem solver,” saying that he wants to help improve communication and develop a more strategic plan for advancing education.
Asked about Kinser’s candidacy, Wright noted her lack of experience in a traditional Wisconsin school district.
“[Kinser] hasn’t worked in a Wisconsin public school district. It’ll be interesting to learn more about what she thinks that she wants to do for public education in the state,” Wright said. “It’ll be interesting to see how someone without the experience of leading a school district changes the race.”
Wright said that he thinks he is the best candidate in part because he has a “real wealth of experience” having taught in Chicago and rural Wisconsin and believes he will be able to bring a lot of people to the table to help tackle issues facing education.
Both Wright and Kinser will face incumbent Underly, who is running for her second term and has said she wants to ensure the state is making investments in public education. She has proposed that the state spend an additional $4 billion on public schools in the next state budget.
Underly has the endorsement of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
Gov. Tony Evers so far has declined to endorse a candidate in the race.
“I’m not taking any position on that,” Evers told reporters during a press conference last week. The comment came after he described recent changes that DPI made to state test score benchmarks as a “mistake.”
Wright and Kinser have been critical of the changes.
The primary for the nonpartisan race is set for Feb. 18. The two candidates with the most votes in the primary will advance to the April 1 general election.
Gov. Tony Evers announcing his proposal for a statewide citizen initiative process on Friday, Jan 3 in the State Capitol. | Wisconsin Examiner photo
Ahead of state lawmakers’ swearing-in on Monday, Gov. Tony Evers is proposing that the Legislature create a way for Wisconsin residents to directly create ballot measures that make statutory and constitutional changes through the referendum process.
The proposal comes ahead of a legislative session that will test the prospects for a productive working relationship among a newly slimmed-down Republican legislative majority, Democratic lawmakers, who picked up 14 seats in the recent elections and Evers.
Evers’ proposal for a “binding referendum” process would allow citizens to put proposed measures before the electorate for ratification.
Wisconsin law currently permits the Legislature to place proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot, after they pass two consecutive legislative sessions. But Wisconsin doesn’t have a way for voters themselves to introduce initiatives or place a binding referendum on the statewide ballot.
Republican lawmakers have turned to constitutional amendments in recent years as a way to bypass the governor’s veto pen. Evers said that if Republicans are going to continue to utilize that process, Wisconsin citizens should also have the opportunity to place questions on the ballot.
“Republican legislators have repeatedly ignored the will of the people of Wisconsin, the majority of whom support proposals like restoring Roe and access to safe, legal abortion, legalizing and taxing marijuana like we do alcohol, funding our public schools and implementing common sense gun safety [laws]… Instead, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly worked to put constitutional amendments on the ballot that are Republican drafted, Republican passed, all while refusing to give the same power to the people,” Evers told reporters during a Capitol press conference Friday. “Republican lawmakers shouldn’t be able to ignore the will of the people and then prevent the people from having a voice.”
Voters could soon see other proposals on their ballots in 2025, including one to add a requirement in that state constitution that voters show photo identification. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said that he hopes this could make it to voters in April — on the same ballot as a high profile state Supreme Court race.
“If Republican lawmakers are going to continue to try to legislate by constitutional amendment, then they should give Wisconsinites the same opportunities that 26 other states have,” Evers said.
The National Conference of State Legislatures, reports that states that have a citizen initiative process allowing citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot include Wisconsin’s neighbors Michigan and Illinois. The referendum process in some states has allowed voters to act on an array of issues including codifying abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and legalizing marijuana.
Evers’ proposal would instruct the Legislature to create a binding statewide process through a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to file petitions with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to hold a vote on proposed state laws and constitutional amendments to repeal current state law. If the Elections Commission were able to validate a sufficient number of signatures by qualified voters, then a vote on the referendum would be held at the next general election at least 120 days after the petition is filed. Evers’ proposal would require a simple majority vote to pass the referendum.
According to a memo from the Legislative Reference Bureau, Wisconsinites voted once on a measure to implement a statewide initiative and referendum process for ratification in the state constitution in 1914 with 64% of voters deciding to reject the constitutional amendment proposal.
The proposal will be included in Evers’ 2025-27 state budget, which he will present in full in February.
The budget writing process will likely be a major place for work to occur, and Evers said he sees opportunities to work with Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the new session and that he has already seen some of that occurring, as new members confer with their colleagues across the aisle on issues of importance to their constituents.
As for his own plans to work with Republican legislative leaders, he said, “We’ll work with them anytime they’re available, you know, we worked a lot on the budget last session when we talked about shared revenue. We hope to be able to do that in the future.”
Scaffolding on the State Capitol of Wisconsin | Photo by Greg Anderson
Over a quarter of lawmakers will take their seats in the Wisconsin Legislature for the first time in 2025, with six new state Senators and 31 new Assembly members following November elections under new legislative maps. In the Assembly, there are 23 new Democratic lawmakers and eight new Republican lawmakers. All of the new state Senators are Democrats.
The Examiner spoke with four of the new lawmakers about preparing for the start of the legislative session ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 6 and what they hope to work on in the new term.
Orientation: A ‘great first step’
Incoming lawmakers participated in an orientation during the second week of December to learn more about the ins and outs of the Legislature and to meet their colleagues.
Rep.-elect Christian Phelps, a Democrat who will represent parts of Eau Claire, joins the Assembly with a background in organizing, having most recently worked for the Wisconsin Public Education Network. He said that his advocacy background gives him some familiarity with the workings of the Legislature — he’s watched floor sessions and attended committee hearings to testify.
Rep.-elect Christian Phelps. (Photo courtesy of Phelps)
“We all probably come in with varying degrees of familiarity with the processes because that’s the nature of democracy,” Phelps said. “Even if you have that kind of background, there’s a lot you don’t know — just kind of the behind the scenes, inner workings.”
Programming for the orientation was organized by the Legislative Council, and the incoming lawmakers said the sessions covered issues such as open records laws, office management skills, technology and human resources information.
Democratic Sen. elect Jodi Habush Sinykin of Whitefish Bay said it was a “terrific itinerary of training,” and “very thoughtfully done.”
The group of new lawmakers spans a broad spectrum of experiences.
Some have backgrounds in local government, including Rep.-elect Tara Johnson, a former La Crosse County board supervisor, Rep.-elect Vinnie Miresse, who has served as a Portage County Board member, Rep.-elect Brent Jacobson, who has served on the Marathon County Board and Rep.-elect Margaret Arney, who has served as an alderperson in Wauwatosa.
A handful come from an education background including Rep.-elect Angelina Cruz, a veteran public school teacher and president of Racine Educators United, Rep.-elect Joe Sheehan, a former Sheboygan Area School District Superintendent and Rep.-elect Angela Stroud, a professor of sociology and social justice at Northland College.
Some have served in the military, including Rep.-elect Benjamin Franklin, who served in the Air Force, Rep.-elect Angelito Tenorio, who served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, and Rep. -elect Duke Tucker, an Air Force veteran.
The new class of lawmakers also includes small business owners, a volunteer pastor, legal professionals and a mental health provider.
Some of the incoming lawmakers have prior experience serving in the state Legislature. Republican Rep.-elect Rob Kreibich of New Richmond, a former TV anchorman, served previously from 1993 to 2007 and Rep.-elect Dean Kaufert, former mayor of Neenah, previously served in the Assembly from 1991 to 2015. Sen.-elect Dora Drake and Melissa Ratcliff are joining the Senate from the Assembly, filling the seats of two outgoing lawmakers. Rep.-elect Dan Knodl is rejoining the Assembly after serving in the Senate for part of a term.
Rep.-elect Renuka Mayadev, a Democrat from Madison, said the diversity of backgrounds in the new freshman class is exciting because it makes conversations robust. She most recently worked at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as a program advisor for maternal and child health in the Wisconsin Partnership Program. She’s planning to leave the job to focus on serving in the Assembly.
“When you get to be with folks in a room all day, for two days, we get to really know each other, and I really appreciated that time,” Mayadev said. “I spoke to some of my new colleagues in the Republican caucus, and we talked about things that we could do together and places that we actually find a lot of common ground.”
Some of the common ground came in the form of connecting on a personal level, Mayadev said. She said she had a conversation with one of her colleagues from across the aisle, whose kids were getting sick.
“I talked about how my kids growing up would get ill in childcare, and how you fight lots of colds this time of year,” Mayadev said. “They might be seen as mundane conversations, but they’re really important.”
The sentiment was shared by other lawmakers.
Republican Rep.-elect Lindee Brill of Sheboygan said the “cool” part about lawmakers in the U.S. is that they are elected by the people.
Rep.-elect Lindee Brill (Courtesy of Brill)
“You’re all of a sudden surrounded by a lot of different people who come from a whole lot of different backgrounds,” Brill said. She noted that there were “a lot more Democrat freshmen than there were Republican.”
“I had great conversations with them over the two days. When it comes down to it, you know, the people elected us to each of our districts, and so we need to, we need to figure out what that looks like to best serve Wisconsin,” Brill said. “There are 99 seats, and us 99 are going to soundly represent the people of Wisconsin, so we have to figure out how to best serve them.”
What incoming lawmakers are hoping to work on next session
Phelps said that he envisions that his office will serve as a “megaphone” for the issues important to his district in the Capitol and also will communicate what’s going on in the Capitol to his district.
Phelps said he wanted to get to work as soon as possible after being elected because he knows that the first part of the odd-numbered session year will go by fast and that the state budget, which will be written then, is powerful.
Phelps said he started reaching out to speak with local elected officials, including town board members, school board members, mayors, council presidents, in the weeks following his elections.
“No one person can know off the top of their head what the most important thing is for all 13 of 13 townships, particularly when I haven’t taken office yet,” Phelps said. “I just kind of wanted to open the door to say: what is that?”
Phelps said he especially is working to identify the issues most important to working class voters in his district, which is a bipartisan group.
“They want investments in their public schools, and they want to stabilize health care in the Chippewa Valley, after the hospital closures and clinic closures there,” Phelps said. “I met so many people who told me that they identify themselves as conservative or moderate, but agreed with me on a number of values based or policy based proposals.”
Similarly, Habush Sinykin said she has been meeting with constituents, with community leaders and with legislators. She also was able to have a discussion with Gov. Tony Evers about the upcoming budget. She said her advocacy focus will be “two-fold” as she wants to help find a “balance between how we can invest in our state to move Wisconsin forward, economically, educationally” to keep and attract young families and addressing “the needs of people to have some tax relief, whether it be income tax and or property tax relief.”
Brill of Sheboygan said she wants to be a “reachable representative” and to create an open dialogue with her constituents. She said she ran for office “for the future of my child,” after spending much of her life in the area.
“A year ago, I didn’t know this is what God had in mind for me, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m excited for the opportunity,” Brill said.
Brill comes to the Assembly having most recently worked at faith-based nonprofits, including at Samaritan’s Hand, a Sheboygan drug and alcohol clinic and earlier at Anchor of Hope, a crisis pregnancy center in Sheboygan.
Brill said she wants to work on the fentanyl crisis in the state and “protecting life [in] every possible way.” Brill described herself as a “pro-life” candidate, having run her campaign with the endorsement of Pro-Life Wisconsin and the promise not to “change my viewpoint on life beginning at conception.” She said she also wants to help shape the state’s elections processes.
When it comes to the state budget, Brill said she’s still learning about the process, but thinks the state could take cues from the incoming Trump administration.
“I believe we’ll get good guidance from the federal [government] and then we’ll be able to follow suit with what he has in mind,” Brill said. She is excited about Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos recently announced that the Assembly will have a Government Oversight, Accountability and Transparency (GOAT) Committee next session, to mirror DOGE.
Mayadev said she plans to use her skills to work for women, children and working families in the Assembly.
One issue she hopes the state will take action on is Medicaid expansion for postpartum mothers. She said she watched as the effort to have Wisconsin join the majority of the country in covering postpartum care for a year, rather than the current 60 days, failed. It passed the Senate but was never taken up in the Assembly. Wisconsin and Arkansas are the only two states in the U.S. that have not extended and do not plan to extend coverage.
“This is critical. Coverage is critical. We need to work on all facets for women’s health, but if they don’t have coverage, especially postpartum, how are they supposed to get the care they need for themselves and their babies and families?” Mayadev said.
Mayadev said she had discussions with some of her Republican colleagues and there is an understanding that they need to work together to get things done on some issues.
“We know inflation has hit our families’ pocketbooks. We know that child care expenses and just the availability of finding child care [of] high quality is very difficult in our state,” Mayadev said. “We need to do things for our constituents, rather than just obstinance and sitting on opposite sides of the fence… I hope that continues.”
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify a quote.
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.
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