As the Legislature begins working on the Wisconsin State Budget, a dangerous idea to give school vouchers their own separate line item could become a huge drain on resources. | Getty Images Creative

The top issue Wisconsinites brought to legislators’ attention at budget hearings around the state last month was the need to adequately fund public schools.

But now, as the Legislature’s powerful budget committee is beginning to work on the budget in earnest, a low-profile plan that never came up in those public hearings aims to turn school vouchers into a statewide entitlement, sucking up all the resources that might otherwise go to public schools and putting Wisconsin on a path to a full–blown budget crisis. 

The plan, contained in two bills that failed in the last legislative session, would stop funding school vouchers through the same mix of state and local funding that supports regular public schools, and instead pay for school vouchers just out of the state’s general fund. 

“It’s certainly something that I personally support. … I’m sure it will be part of the discussion,” Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam), co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, told Lisa Pugh on Wisconsin Eye when she asked about “decoupling” Wisconsin voucher school funding from the rest of the school finance system.

“Decoupling” would pave the way for a big expansion in taxpayer subsidies for private school tuition. While jettisoning the caps on available funds and enrollment in the current school formula, voucher payments would become an entitlement. The state would be obligated to pay for every eligible student to attend private school. It’s worth noting that most participants in Wisconsin’s voucher programs never attended public school, so what we are talking about is setting up a massive private school system with separate funding alongside the public K-12 school system. That’s more than Wisconsin can afford.

Anne Chapman, research director for the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO), has followed the issue closely. “It could come up last-minute, on very short notice,” she warns. 

She worries that Wisconsin is following the same path as other states that have steadily expanded public funding for private schools without accurately assessing what the expansion would cost. In a recent WASBO paper, “The price of parallel systems,” Chapman writes that Wisconsin already ranks third among states with the highest proportion of state education dollars used in private schooling options (9%). The top two states, Florida (22%) and Arizona (12%), she writes, are “cautionary examples.” 

Florida’s universal voucher program will cost the state $3.9 billion this year. The state, which until now has been running budget surpluses, is projecting a $6.9 billion deficit by 2027-28, fueled by the voucher expansion along with tax cuts. Arizona is also facing much bigger than expected costs for its universal voucher program. After projecting it would cost $64 million in 2023-24, the state found that it underestimated the cost of vouchers by more than 650%. The real cost of universal vouchers in Arizona in 2023-24 was  $738 million. The result: a huge budget deficit and significant cuts to public schools.

Wisconsin, which launched the first school voucher program in the nation in Milwaukee 35 ago, has steadily increased both the size and per-pupil expenditures of its system of voucher schools. That’s despite a research consensus that school vouchers have not improved academic outcomes for students and, in fact, have done significant harm.

Testifying recently against a school voucher bill in Texas, University of Michigan professor and school voucher expert Josh Cowen described the “catastrophic” results of vouchers on educational outcomes across the country over the last decade.

‘Horrific’ voucher results

Cowen has been evaluating school vouchers since the 1990s, when the first pilot program in Milwaukee had a measurable, positive impact on the 400 low-income kids who used vouchers to attend traditional private schools. As school vouchers expanded to serve tens of thousands of students and “subprime” operators moved in to take advantage of taxpayer dollars, however, the results took a dramatic downturn. Cowen described the “horrific learning loss” he and other researchers have recorded over the last decade among kids who started in public school and then moved to private school using vouchers. He was used to seeing trends in education that simply didn’t work to improve outcomes, he told the Texas legislators, but “it’s very rare to see something that harmed kids academically.” The worst drops in test scores, he said, came in 2014-15 — the same year that states began taking the programs statewide. He concluded that the smaller programs that had paid close attention to students and offered them a lot of support became something entirely different when vouchers were scaled up. Yet despite the abysmal results, more and more states are moving toward universal voucher systems.

Imagine, Cowen told the Texas legislators, if “30 years ago a vaccine showed some positive effects in clinical trials for a few hundred kids.” Then, when the vaccine was approved and used on thousands of children, “the health effects became negative, even atrocious.”

“No one would say, ‘let’s just hang our hat on the pilot and focus on results from 30 years ago,” Cowen said. But that’s exactly what’s happening with school vouchers. The kids vouchers were originally supposed to help — low-income children in underresourced schools — have suffered the most. 

Studies from research teams in Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio and Washington, D.C., show learning losses for kids who left public school to attend voucher programs that surpassed the learning loss experienced by students in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina or by children across the country from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cowen said.

Instead of helping those struggling students, who often attend the “subprime” schools Cowen discussed, the voucher programs in Wisconsin and other states mostly provide a taxpayer-financed benefit to private school families — 70% of whom have never put their kids in public school.

Anti-government ideologues and school choice lobbyists are selling a faulty product with the rapid expansion of school vouchers.

Part of the scam is the effort to hide the true costs from taxpayers. That’s the part Chapman, the school business expert, is worried about. As school districts struggle with lean budgets, under the current system, at least local taxpayers can see how much they are paying to support the voucher schools in their districts. If the Legislature succeeds in moving the cost of school vouchers into the general statewide budget, that transparency will be lost. And, at the same time, the state will open the door to unlimited spending on vouchers, no matter how expensive the program becomes. 

School choice advocates in Wisconsin have long pushed for “a voucher in every backpack” — or universal eligibility for the private school voucher program.

“Eligibility” doesn’t mean the same thing as “access,” however: In Wisconsin voucher schools have a track record of kicking out students who are disabled, challenging to educate, LGBTQ or for any other reason they deem them a bad fit.

Those students go back to the public schools, whose mission is to serve all students. In contrast, private schools in the voucher system can and do discriminate. Yet, Chapman reports, we are now spending about $629 million for Wisconsin’s four voucher programs, which serve 58,623 students. That’s $54 million more than the $574.8 million we are spending on all 126,830 students with disabilities in Wisconsin, as school districts struggle with the cost of special education. 

Federal tax deduction windfall for voucher schools

As if that weren’t enough, at the federal level, the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025 (ECCA), currently being considered by Congress, would give a 100% tax deduction on donations to nonprofits known as Scholarship Granting Organizations, which give out private K-12 school vouchers.

Normally, donors to nonprofits can expect a tax deduction of 37 cents on the dollar at most. The 100% tax deduction means financial advisers across the country will push clients, whether they are school choice advocates or not, to give money to voucher schools. Under the bill, contributors would also be allowed to give corporate stock and avoid capital gains tax. “This would allow wealthy ‘donors’ to turn a profit, at taxpayer expense, by acting as middlemen in steering federal funding into private K-12 schools,” the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports. ITEP estimates that the ECCA would cost the federal government $134 billion in foregone revenue over the next 10 years and would cost states an additional $2.3 billion.

The very least we can do as citizens is to demand accountability and transparency in the state budget process, before we blow all of our money on tax breaks and tuition vouchers for people who don’t need them. 

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Parents with the "Learn in My Shoes" campaign including Amanda Sherman and Melanie Grosse stand before the Joint Finance Committee at a public hearing in West Allis. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin’s special education reimbursement rate has been a concern for public school advocates for many years, but with districts’ reliance on school referendum requests increasing and federal support in doubt, the state’s reimbursement rate is quickly becoming one of the top issues this budget cycle.

Public school districts currently get about 30% of their special education costs reimbursed by the state. Advocates have called to increase that to at least 60% and as much as 90%, which is the amount that private and charter schools participating in the state’s voucher programs already get.

Tiffany Schanno, a Sheboygan parent, and Melissa Custer, a Grafton parent, have been showing up at state budget hearings and meeting in the Capitol to bring awareness to the experience of families seeking special education services in schools.

“We both have kids with disabilities who are trying to access special education, and we both experienced a lot of obstacles just trying to get our children accessible education, and the thing that we discovered is that it all comes down to funding,” Schanno said in an interview with the Examiner. “There’s only so much as far as resources to go around, so a lot of times families are competing against each other for services.” 

The pair put together a display — titled “Learn in My Shoes” — that included letters from families about their children’s experience receiving services and financial strains on schools. They placed the letters in a pair of children’s shoes. Custer said they thought having a visual representation and sharing stories would give lawmakers a “small taste” of the reality.

One letter described how educators and paraprofessionals have helped 12-year-old James “communicate with peers, become more confident and able to share more of who he is in meaningful ways.” James received important supports thanks to a “persistent” parent who said not all parents understand the process or know how to advocate for what their children need.  

“Because public school budgets are stretched to the point of hundreds of referendums over the past few years, families don’t ask for what they need because they don’t want to be thought of as burdensome,” the parent wrote. “Our family can find workarounds to an extent, but many others cannot. All children deserve an equal opportunity to a sound public education, and funding that keeps up with cost increases.”

Another parent said her son, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, requires specialized support to navigate school safely and help with emotional regulation, transitions and physical safety. 

“Due to funding shortages, services are stretched thin… ” the parent wrote. “My children — and thousands of others across Wisconsin — deserve a chance to succeed, to feel safe, and to receive the support they need to reach their potential. Please make this a priority.” 

Schanno and Custer delivered the shoes and letters to lawmakers.

Schanno said some lawmakers expressed skepticism that additional state money would actually be used for special education. She said that isn’t a “valid argument” since federally mandated special education costs are carefully tracked.

“It’s not like you’re just giving a district a whole bunch of money and trusting them to use it for the right thing,” she said.

“Ultimately, what I took away from our visits… is that we have a long way to go with people understanding more about disability in general … and about the value in educating people who are different than they are,” Schanno said.

Proposals in discussion

Gov. Tony Evers proposed in his state budget that the reimbursement rate be raised to 60%. Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), have acknowledged education funding as a top concern for  the public, and some, including Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston), have said they want to put more money into  special education, but it is unclear what Republican lawmakers will support. 

As Republican lawmakers seek a deal on tax cuts, WisPolitics reports that spokesperson Britt Cudaback said Evers “expects Republicans to come to the table on investing in education at every level, among other critical priorities, in order to move forward.”

During the last budget cycle, lawmakers increased the special ed reimbursement rate, though Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) notes it was a sum-certain rate, meaning there is a finite amount of money available, so the rate of reimbursement is not guaranteed as funds run low. The current reimbursement rate is hovering around 30%.

“School funding is complex” and special education funding is the “baseline that we absolutely should be doing,” Larson said. Special education funding in Wisconsin peaked at 70% in 1973 and at one point was as low as about 24.5% in 2018-19.

Larson supports increasing the rate to 90%. He said he thinks Evers’ 60% proposal is looking at it “from a political standpoint of what he perceives as what he wants to start the negotiations at in the budget with Republicans instead of what’s needed” and also taking into consideration other budget priorities. 

“That’s helpful and that would be significant and still double the percentage of what schools are currently getting, and I appreciate that…” Larson said. “I would hope that the governor would say 60% or veto.”

Larson also noted Evers’ budget would change special education reimbursement from sum certain to sum sufficient — so reimbursements at the set rate would be guaranteed.

Larson said he hopes his Republican colleagues support boosting the rate. 

“It still baffles me that some people think this is a partisan thing. Schools all over the state need help. The districts that are going to referendum are rural, they’re urban and they’re suburban. There’s nobody who’s special who is dodging this. Everybody is getting screwed over by the state,” Larson said. “I hope that the folks, the Republicans, who hold the narrow majority in the Assembly and in the Senate, would listen to their constituents who are saying, ‘Stop throwing this on us to cover your gap.’”

Special ed reimbursement could relieve referendum pressure

The discussion about school funding, especially for special education, comes as school districts have increasingly come to rely on referendum requests. Public school leaders, advocates and Democratic lawmakers have said increasing the special education reimbursement to at least 60% could help relieve some of that pressure.

Anne Chapman, research director for the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials Association, said that increasing special education funding by a significant amount would allow school districts to not have to pull as much money from their general funds for the mandated services.

“You would see way fewer referendums, and you would see kids surge with better programs,” Chapman said. 

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, just this year there were 94 referendum requests across February and April elections with about a third of those representing “retry” efforts. As schools continue to rely on referendum requests to meet costs, Republican and Democratic lawmakers are seeking ways to change the dynamic, though the latter are focused on providing additional state funding, while the former are focused on implementing new restrictions. 

Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) said a memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that compares recent referendum requests to the amount of unreimbursed special education costs illustrates the correlation. He said he asked for the memo after noticing a detail about the finances of the Eau Claire School District. 

“Eau Claire’s unreimbursed special education dollar amount was equivalent to the amount of money that they were asking for in their referendum just to not go too far into the red in their budget,” Phelps said, adding that he wondered “how widespread is this pattern?”

The 128 school districts that sought operating referendums in 2024, a record-breaking year, had over $488 million in unreimbursed special education costs for the 2022-23 school year, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. The bureau’s memo also found that about one-fifth of the referendum requests in 2024 were equal to or exceeded special education costs that were unreimbursed by the state in 2022-23.

Some examples include: 

• Bangor School District had a recurring referendum request for $900,000 that failed in 2024. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $973,299 in 2022-23. 
• Edgerton School District had a $3,500,000 recurring request that passed. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $3,520,303. 
• Eau Claire School District had a successful $18,000,000 request. Its unreimbursed special education costs were $17,933,991. 

In some cases, a referendum request was for more than the unreimbursed costs, but even those were still close. Hamilton School District passed a $7,600,000 recurring referendum in 2024. The total of its unreimbursed special education costs was $6,128,870. 

“Funding special ed fully lifts all boats,” Phelps said. “When we have an underfunded special ed system, we are creating discrimination and disparity against students with disabilities. The services are mandated, so we’re paying for them one way or the other.” He added that right now, property taxpayers are making up for the state’s low reimbursement rate, and school districts are depleting their general funds. 

“Who loses when we’re stretching funds like that? Literally, every kid,” Phelps said, adding that funding special education through referendum isn’t effective because it’s also unpredictable. 

“When referendums happen, they either pass or fail, so now this district is better off than that district for no reason other than the fact that they both had to ask their voters for a referendum, and so we have disparities… when there is literally a pile of billions of dollars sitting around,” Phelps said, referencing the state’s $4 billion budget surplus. 

“It’s a gold mine in state budgeting to find something that you could do that just so clearly lifts all boats,” Phelps added. 

While Phelps said 60% is a compromise, he said the request from Evers is significant.

“It was not that long ago, public ed advocates were literally getting laughed out of rooms when they would ask for 60%,” Phelps said. “Now, the pressure is just too big, and you’re not getting laughed at for asking for 60[%] anymore.”

Derek Gottlieb, an associate professor at the University of Northern Colorado and senior research director for School Perceptions, an education research firm, also said the state could pick up more of the cost of special ed than Evers’ proposed 60%. 

“Even if the state didn’t touch revenue limits, even if the state continued to fail to raise just revenue limits upward to keep pace with inflation, we would see many, many, many fewer operating referendums if the state just paid 100% of special education expenditures…” Gottlieb said. “It is shameful, frankly, that the state has done less.”

Federal upheaval shadows special ed funding debate 

During a virtual public forum in April, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction leaders said the discussion about federal and state special education funding are connected.

State Superintendent Jill Underly said as reimbursement rates remain low, local communities will continue to take on the cost of the federal- and state-mandated services. 

The special education reimbursement rate “is rather low — it’s 29% now, based on last year’s numbers — but the federal government also has a reimbursement rate, and it’s even lower,” Underly said during the session. “What this would indicate is that our schools are still going to provide the services, because that’s what our schools do. It’s just that they’re not going to be reimbursed fully for them, so the burden is going to shift more to the local school districts to compensate the costs.”

The comments come as the future of the federal government’s role in special education is in flux. The Trump administration has pushed to close the U.S. Department of Education, slashing its workforce and seeking to move “special needs” programs to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

During the forum, Deputy State Superintendent Thomas McCarthy noted that when it comes to federal funding “special education is one of the things that, by and large, everyone has said, we’re not going to reduce the states now.” 

“That is what I know today, ask me next week, it could be on the chopping block,” McCarthy said. Trump’s recent “skinny budget” proposal seeks to cut 15% from the education budget, but says it isn’t cutting funding for special education, though it does propose consolidating several Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant programs into one. 

As the upheaval creates uncertainty, DPI leaders encouraged Wisconsinites to take the  opportunity to advocate for more funding. 

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became law in 1975, the federal government said it would fund 40% of special education costs, Underly noted. The federal contribution now hovers around 10%.

“When they are arguing that they’re going to make things more efficient at the U.S. Department of Ed or in the federal government… What are they going to do with those savings? This would be a great example. Well, let’s authorize Congress to reimburse up to 40% of special education costs,” Underly said.

“Not only do we need the current level of funding, we need more funding… so be having that conversation with your federal elected officials [and] also be having it with your state elected officials,” Assistant Deputy State Superintendent Sara Knueve said. “We’re in the heat of that conversation about what’s the state’s reimbursement rate and they’re connected.”

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Lawmakers listen to testimony at the West Allis public hearing in early April. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Education priorities, including funding for K-12 public schools, higher education and early childhood education and child care, proved to be the issues that arose most often in public hearings held by the Wisconsin Legislature’s powerful budget committee in April. 

Wisconsin lawmakers wrapped up their public hearings this week with a hearing Monday in Hayward and one Tuesday in Wausau. Two hearings were held in early April in West Allis and Kaukauna.

With the hearings complete, the Joint Finance Committee will turn its attention to the work of writing the budget with the goal of completing it by the June 30 deadline. If lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers don’t complete the budget by that deadline, Wisconsin continues to operate under the current budget into the next fiscal year. 

Tessa Maglio, digital and communications organizer for the Wisconsin Public Education Network, a nonprofit advocacy organization for public schools, worked with legislative policy Lead Bryn Horton and organizing and engagement coordinator Camden Hargrove to track testimony at each of the public hearings.

“Tracking the testimony is really important because we have seen in budget cycle after budget cycle people ask for the resources Wisconsin kids in their public schools need and then have watched the subsequent budget not meet the requests,” Maglio said. “We wanted to keep it in the forefront of the advocates’ minds as well as the governor’s mind and legislators’ minds.” 

According to the WPEN tracker, more than 900 people spoke across the four hearings, which lasted about 29 total hours. WPEN reported that more than 170 people discussed funding for K-12 schools, more than 50 people spoke about higher education and more than  50  spoke about child care. Maglio said education across the spectrum made up at least a third of the total testimony.

“It is really powerful to hear you know people share their stories and experiences and priorities and so even though some of the topics might not have tallied very high on our tracker, they’re nonetheless still very important,” Maglio said.

On the issue of  K-12 public education, Maglio said, public testimony included calls to raise the special education reimbursement to at least 60%, provide districts with more spendable aid, fix the revenue limit structure, which restricts how much school districts can raise without permission from lawmakers or the public, and help school districts keep their schools operating and serve their students.

There were “many different stories and many different perspectives and people brought their own experiences whether they were coming from large urban districts or small rural districts,” Maglio said. School districts in Wisconsin have not had predictable increases in funding through state aid or property taxes in over 15 years, and an increasing number of school districts have had to rely on getting permission from voters in referendums to meet costs.

Maglio highlighted testimony by Laura McCoy, president of the Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education, at the Kaukauna hearing. 

McCoy told lawmakers that her community supports their local schools.

“We know this because we just passed yet another referendum: the third referendum in eight years. We’re going to have to pass another one next year,” McCoy said. “Honestly, funding public education by referendum is no way to educate our future generations. Districts around this state are begging for change. Please listen to them.” 

“We are doing our job in Green Bay. We are holding up our piece of the sky. We are preparing our students for the future and we are hitting it out of the ballpark with workforce development,” McCoy added. “But it gets harder every year and we need to feel like the state Legislature is our partner, and not our adversary.” 

JFC Democrats call for education funding

Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee also called on Republican members to fund education in the upcoming state budget during a Wednesday press conference.

“From West Allis to Wausau, the message was consistent and it was clear,” said Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee).  “Wisconsinites want a budget that invests in public education, affordable health care options, workforce development and child care.” 

“It is our job as state legislators,” Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said, “and it is time for my Republican colleagues to join Democrats in actually providing the resources that our kids deserve.” 

Republican leaders have said that the state Supreme Court decision on Evers’ partial veto, which extends the annual $325 revenue limit increase for school districts for 400 years, would affect the state budget. In April, the Court upheld the veto, saying it was within the governor’s  power and suggesting that lawmakers could take different routes, including writing the budget differently or passing a constitutional amendment, if they want to prevent such vetoes in the future. 

Roys said it would be “an excuse” and “pathetic” if Republicans decide not to increase education funding due to the decision. 

“If they want to try to pass a constitutional amendment, we’ve seen them do it again and again. They can certainly give that a try, but I don’t think that’s an acceptable excuse to fail to pass a budget on time, fail to pass a budget that makes the investments that our kids and our constituents — all of our constituents — need and and deserve,” Roys said. 

Johnson added that the state could also cover the cost of the $325 revenue increase Evers’ veto allowed school districts to raise from local taxpayers. 

“I’m hoping that they do the right thing,” Johnson said of her colleagues in the Legislature. “We heard a consensus across the board of taxpayers coming in and testifying, saying that the referendums are not sustainable. It’s not the way for them to fund public education, and let’s be real, it’s not fair, either.” 

Health care concerns

According to the WPEN’s tracking, health care was the second most discussed issue at the hearings. 

“Coming in just behind the focus on public education was Medicaid expansion, Medicaid funding, health care,” said Maglio. “Many, many, many people came out to testify in favor of those things and shared really powerful and sometimes heart-breaking personal stories about the impact that Medicaid funding has on their lives or the lives of their loved ones and what that would mean if that funding were not to be supported in the budget.” 

Evers, as he has done in each of his budget proposals, asked  that Wisconsin take the federal Medicaid expansion that would allow almost all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level to qualify. Wisconsin is one of only 10 states that has not done so.

This session, though, the request comes at a moment when the Medicaid program is facing the threat of deep cuts from  the Trump administration and Republican members of Congress. Concerns about proposed federal cuts came up at the state budget hearings. 

“Also with farming and food access and previously supported funding for Wisconsin farmers to provide food to schools and to food pantries… Across the board there was kind of an undercurrent [of] people focusing on the needs of Wisconsinites, but urging their lawmakers to think about the budget within the context of decisions being made at the federal level,” Maglio said.

In addition to broader Medicaid expansion, a postpartum Medicaid expansion, which would extend health care coverage for mothers who recently gave birth from 60 days to a year, has been a major point of bipartisan agreement this session. A bill that would make Wisconsin the 49th state to take the extension recently passed the Senate but it faces challenges in the Assembly, where the top Republican has opposed the measure deeming it an expansion of “welfare.” 

Roys called on her Republican colleagues to get it done by placing it in the budget. She noted that the four Democrats and the six Senate Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee, who voted in favor of the bill, could place the proposal in the budget without Assembly Republicans on the committee having to vote in favor. 

“I understand that there are some problems over in the Assembly, and we’ve heard that Vos  is to blame year after year, session after session when this doesn’t get done — despite having overwhelming support for members of his caucus, and, of course, every single Democrat in the Legislature,” Roys said. “The good news is that if Republicans in the Assembly are afraid of political retribution from Speaker Vos or they don’t want to cross him, we can still put postpartum Medicaid expansion in the budget right now.” 

Another major issue that lawmakers will debate this budget is tax cuts, though Roys noted that cuts for “millionaires and billionaires” were not popular topics at the public hearings. 

“That’s one thing that nobody asked for, [but] seems to be the focus of my Republican colleagues,” Roys said. “In fact, they are focused on trying to shove through an irresponsible tax cut before we even engage in meeting the needs of Wisconsinites.”

Republican lawmakers have said they want to pass a tax cut bill prior to the budget. 

“The goal, again, is to try to find something that can actually get across the finish line,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said in April. During the last legislative session, Evers vetoed several Republican  tax cut proposals, including proposed reductions for the top income tax brackets in the last budget. “I think the governor realizes that we’re not going to spend any more money unless we have the ability to reduce taxes and help folks get by with inflation.”

Evers, meanwhile, has said that he won’t support tax cuts done outside of the budget.

“It has to be part of the budget. We just can’t do things one way, and then, you know, just do taxes and then do spending,” Evers said. “We have to look at it together.”

So far lawmakers have declined to discuss specifics. Committee Co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said at a press conference ahead of the Wausau hearing that details haven’t been negotiated and they aren’t going to “negotiate anything in the media.” 

Democratic legislative leaders have said they haven’t been part of those discussions. 

Roys said that if Democrats were going to support a tax cut, it needs to be part of the budget process and it needs to be “responsible and not create a massive structural deficit that then Republicans will use it as an excuse to undermine the services that we rely on in our public schools.” Any cut, she added, needs to be targeted towards “everyday Wisconsinites.” 

Johnson said that investing in other priorities could also present a better opportunity for savings for taxpayers. 

“Everybody could use a couple of extra dollars in their pocket. Let’s be real, I could use a couple of extra dollars a month, but if those same communities are going to have to go to referendum to support their schools, it’s not a tax break for them,” Johnson said.

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The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Madison offices. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy took questions from lawmakers on the Assembly Corrections Committee Tuesday, explaining the plan for Gov. Tony Evers’ about $500 million state budget request. 

Hoy previously defended the proposal to the Joint Finance Committee prior to which co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) had expressed concerns that the plan lacked detail.

About $325 million in Evers’ proposal would go to overhaul the state’s correctional facilities through a “domino” plan — starting with work to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which were initially supposed to close in 2021 under 2018 Act 185, and culminating in the closure of the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

“There are a lot of issues with running facilities that are that old,” Hoy said about the Green Bay facility, which was built in 1898. It would cost about $6.3 million for the closure. “We shouldn’t be running prisons in that manner in 2025… We want to do more with our population than what those facilities can afford us to do.”

Under the plan, Waupun Correctional Institution would be closed temporarily for renovations, including replacing the existing cells with modern housing for 600 medium-security beds and establishing space for a “vocational village.” The work on Waupun would cost about $245.3 million and be ready to open in 2031.

“If we are going to keep Waupun open, we are going to completely flip the script. We are going to rewrite the narrative of Waupun,” Hoy said.

Hoy said that the idea wouldn’t be far from turning the Waupun facility into a “college campus” where inmates can receive vocational, career and technical education. 

“They’re living in community together. They’re going to school together. They’re studying in the evenings together, and it’s predicated on robust partnerships with the community so that we have manufacturers out in the community who come in to do the training on site,” Hoy said. 

Other infrastructure funding would include $130 million to complete construction of a Type 1 youth facility in Dane County, which would be necessary to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools, $9 million to convert Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake into a 500-bed facility for men, $8.8 million to convert Stanley Correctional Institution to a maximum-security institution and $56 million to expand Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center by 200 beds.

Committee Chair Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) asked how DOC considered future budgets and whether there would be increases to the cost.

“It’s not the full cost of capital and programming for the future, so there’s a cost that is going to be harder to quantify when you build this, and you get it up and running,” Kaufert said.

Hoy said that closing Green Bay would actually represent a significant decrease in operating budget and updating Waupun would also lead to some decreases.

“Operating Waupun is quite cost prohibitive because [of] the number of staff that you need to run those aging facilities,” Hoy said. “Running a smaller facility at Waupun…requires less staffing, as well as shutting down Green Bay, your overall operating budget starts to offset [needing] more staff at Sanger Powers [Correctional Center]” to help with the additional beds.

Hoy also addressed some of the policy changes meant to address the growing prison population. Wisconsin’s prison population as of February was 23,074 and is expected to grow to 24,000 by the end of the biennium, despite the state only having capacity to house 17,638 people across its correctional facilities.

“About a third of our entire population is nonviolent in our prisons, and so we have existing programs that help people get the treatment, get the support and get them back out the door in a timely manner,” Hoy said. “One of the main mechanisms we have to do that at our disposal is the earned release program.” 

Evers’ plan would expand access to the state’s Earned Release Program to allow an additional 2,500 participants. The plan would expand access to workforce training and substance use treatment for people who have 48 months or less left in their sentences for nonviolent offenses  to support this. 

Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) asked if the state is hitting a “tipping point” when it comes to its prison population. 

“Are we at the point of even thinking about sending people to other jails? Are we thinking about sending people out of state?” Stubbs asked. “Our incarceration numbers right now… are very high.” 

Hoys said that would be a “nuclear” option, given that it would take people away from their families and community. 

“I have no intention, no desire to send people out of state,” Hoys said, but added that “at some point our options are going to run out.” 

Hoys said DOC is leveraging jail contracts as much as it can and noted that one change that is being sought in the budget is an increase to the daily rate. Right now, he said the rate is capped at $60 a day and he wants that bumped to $80 to match the rate for federal inmates. 

“If I’m a sheriff and I’m looking at taking in-state guys versus federal guys or women for that matter, I’m going to choose the federal folks because the price tag [is] better,” Hoy said. “I want to be able to have that as a resource. Again, I’d like to keep everybody in our facilities as opposed to county jails, but that is a safety valve for us that we currently do utilize.” 

Kaufert, who was newly elected to his seat in November, noted that during his previous tenure in the state Legislature in the 1990s, lawmakers on the corrections committee toured facilities in other states where Wisconsin inmates were being held.

“I don’t want to make that mistake again,” Kaufert said. 

Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere) asked whether DOC would at least consider building a new facility to replace the Green Bay one. He added that he recently spoke to the Brown County sheriff, who said there are hundreds of people at home on ankle bracelets because there just isn’t enough space. 

“I want to commend the governor for acknowledging that that needs to go away — GBCI,” Franklin said. 

“We definitely did look… but to just replace Green Bay [maximum] facility — same size, same number of beds — you’re approaching a billion dollars, if not more,” Hoy said, adding that the state  also got an estimate of about $800 million for a smaller facility. 

“If I was looking across our population right now, and we were packed to the gills with violent offenders… I wouldn’t be saying, no, let’s not build anything. I’d be saying… we need to make sure our communities are safe and continue to house these people,” Hoy said. “But when I’m sitting on, you know, a third of 23,000 people that are non-violent… I believe it’s not only the right thing to do, but fiscally responsible to give those folks a chance in the community.” 

Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond Du Lac) asked how far up DOC is on Evers’ priority list. Noting the University of Wisconsin system budget and the public K-12 funding challenges, he said that everyone is seeking funding from the same pot of money. Wisconsin has a $4 billion budget surplus and Evers had suggested raising taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsinites. 

“I think we’re pretty close to the top, and I’m not just saying that because I’m the secretary of DOC. I mean I think it’s one of his biggest priorities,” Hoy said. 

Kaufert expressed interest in having more committee hearings with DOC about the plan. 

“There’s so many arms and legs on this that one impacts the other,” Kaufert said, adding that they could break it down to have more time to speak about all the pieces. He noted that if they are spending hundreds of millions and ending up with less beds, they better have “darn good answers” for taxpayers.

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The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Madison offices. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy took questions from lawmakers on the Assembly Corrections Committee Tuesday, explaining the plan for Gov. Tony Evers’ about $500 million state budget request. 

Hoy previously defended the proposal to the Joint Finance Committee prior to which co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) had expressed concerns that the plan lacked detail.

About $325 million in Evers’ proposal would go to overhaul the state’s correctional facilities through a “domino” plan — starting with work to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which were initially supposed to close in 2021 under 2018 Act 185, and culminating in the closure of the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

“There are a lot of issues with running facilities that are that old,” Hoy said about the Green Bay facility, which was built in 1898. It would cost about $6.3 million for the closure. “We shouldn’t be running prisons in that manner in 2025… We want to do more with our population than what those facilities can afford us to do.”

Under the plan, Waupun Correctional Institution would be closed temporarily for renovations, including replacing the existing cells with modern housing for 600 medium-security beds and establishing space for a “vocational village.” The work on Waupun would cost about $245.3 million and be ready to open in 2031.

“If we are going to keep Waupun open, we are going to completely flip the script. We are going to rewrite the narrative of Waupun,” Hoy said.

Hoy said that the idea wouldn’t be far from turning the Waupun facility into a “college campus” where inmates can receive vocational, career and technical education. 

“They’re living in community together. They’re going to school together. They’re studying in the evenings together, and it’s predicated on robust partnerships with the community so that we have manufacturers out in the community who come in to do the training on site,” Hoy said. 

Other infrastructure funding would include $130 million to complete construction of a Type 1 youth facility in Dane County, which would be necessary to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools, $9 million to convert Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake into a 500-bed facility for men, $8.8 million to convert Stanley Correctional Institution to a maximum-security institution and $56 million to expand Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center by 200 beds.

Committee Chair Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) asked how DOC considered future budgets and whether there would be increases to the cost.

“It’s not the full cost of capital and programming for the future, so there’s a cost that is going to be harder to quantify when you build this, and you get it up and running,” Kaufert said.

Hoy said that closing Green Bay would actually represent a significant decrease in operating budget and updating Waupun would also lead to some decreases.

“Operating Waupun is quite cost prohibitive because [of] the number of staff that you need to run those aging facilities,” Hoy said. “Running a smaller facility at Waupun…requires less staffing, as well as shutting down Green Bay, your overall operating budget starts to offset [needing] more staff at Sanger Powers [Correctional Center]” to help with the additional beds.

Hoy also addressed some of the policy changes meant to address the growing prison population. Wisconsin’s prison population as of February was 23,074 and is expected to grow to 24,000 by the end of the biennium, despite the state only having capacity to house 17,638 people across its correctional facilities.

“About a third of our entire population is nonviolent in our prisons, and so we have existing programs that help people get the treatment, get the support and get them back out the door in a timely manner,” Hoy said. “One of the main mechanisms we have to do that at our disposal is the earned release program.” 

Evers’ plan would expand access to the state’s Earned Release Program to allow an additional 2,500 participants. The plan would expand access to workforce training and substance use treatment for people who have 48 months or less left in their sentences for nonviolent offenses  to support this. 

Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) asked if the state is hitting a “tipping point” when it comes to its prison population. 

“Are we at the point of even thinking about sending people to other jails? Are we thinking about sending people out of state?” Stubbs asked. “Our incarceration numbers right now… are very high.” 

Hoys said that would be a “nuclear” option, given that it would take people away from their families and community. 

“I have no intention, no desire to send people out of state,” Hoys said, but added that “at some point our options are going to run out.” 

Hoys said DOC is leveraging jail contracts as much as it can and noted that one change that is being sought in the budget is an increase to the daily rate. Right now, he said the rate is capped at $60 a day and he wants that bumped to $80 to match the rate for federal inmates. 

“If I’m a sheriff and I’m looking at taking in-state guys versus federal guys or women for that matter, I’m going to choose the federal folks because the price tag [is] better,” Hoy said. “I want to be able to have that as a resource. Again, I’d like to keep everybody in our facilities as opposed to county jails, but that is a safety valve for us that we currently do utilize.” 

Kaufert, who was newly elected to his seat in November, noted that during his previous tenure in the state Legislature in the 1990s, lawmakers on the corrections committee toured facilities in other states where Wisconsin inmates were being held.

“I don’t want to make that mistake again,” Kaufert said. 

Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere) asked whether DOC would at least consider building a new facility to replace the Green Bay one. He added that he recently spoke to the Brown County sheriff, who said there are hundreds of people at home on ankle bracelets because there just isn’t enough space. 

“I want to commend the governor for acknowledging that that needs to go away — GBCI,” Franklin said. 

“We definitely did look… but to just replace Green Bay [maximum] facility — same size, same number of beds — you’re approaching a billion dollars, if not more,” Hoy said, adding that the state  also got an estimate of about $800 million for a smaller facility. 

“If I was looking across our population right now, and we were packed to the gills with violent offenders… I wouldn’t be saying, no, let’s not build anything. I’d be saying… we need to make sure our communities are safe and continue to house these people,” Hoy said. “But when I’m sitting on, you know, a third of 23,000 people that are non-violent… I believe it’s not only the right thing to do, but fiscally responsible to give those folks a chance in the community.” 

Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond Du Lac) asked how far up DOC is on Evers’ priority list. Noting the University of Wisconsin system budget and the public K-12 funding challenges, he said that everyone is seeking funding from the same pot of money. Wisconsin has a $4 billion budget surplus and Evers had suggested raising taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsinites. 

“I think we’re pretty close to the top, and I’m not just saying that because I’m the secretary of DOC. I mean I think it’s one of his biggest priorities,” Hoy said. 

Kaufert expressed interest in having more committee hearings with DOC about the plan. 

“There’s so many arms and legs on this that one impacts the other,” Kaufert said, adding that they could break it down to have more time to speak about all the pieces. He noted that if they are spending hundreds of millions and ending up with less beds, they better have “darn good answers” for taxpayers.

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AG Josh Kaul speaks at a town hall in Green Bay. | Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke to a crowd at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay last Thursday about crime victims’ services and Wisconsin’s response to  actions taken by the Trump administration.

Kaul said Wisconsin is currently involved in 11 multi-state lawsuits challenging various actions of the federal government. Among them are cases related to massive staffing cuts in the U.S. Department of Education, termination of health funding and an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Kaul said many programs are being changed drastically. He discussed possible impacts of Social Security staff cuts as an example and encouraged people to reach out to the Wisconsin Department of Justice and share how these policy changes are affecting them.

Last month, Kaul unsuccessfully attempted to block Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks at an event supporting Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, who lost the recent election to Susan Crawford. The state Supreme Court turned down Kaul’s petition.

In Kaul’s opinion, “having rules that regulate petitions that are circulated right before an election, having rules that make clear that inducements to register to vote are problematic would be helpful,” he said. “And I think having statutes that make clear what it means to induce somebody to vote would be helpful.”

Kaul also described his pitch for money for services for crime victims in the state budget. Lower allocations from the federal Victims of Crime Act left providers scrambling, and Kaul said some providers have cut back on their hours and some have cut back on services. 

“Crime victim services, for those of you who aren’t familiar, can make a critical difference in the lives of people who are victims of crime,” Kaul said. “…They can help ensure that the victim’s rights are protected.”

Crime victim services can also help lead a person “to want to work with law enforcement and hold a perpetrator accountable, and that makes all of us safer,” he said. 

“So, essentially, what we’re talking about at the current level of funding is programs being stretched to the breaking point,” Kaul said. “That’s something I’ve heard from victim advocates.”

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Jennifer Williamson said she enjoyed the class sizes in Dodgeville. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The effects of a second failed referendum at Dodgeville School District became immediately apparent this week with the district announcing that 13 staff members along with some programs, including electives and extracurriculars, are to be cut. The April referendum failed last week by 109 votes with 2010 people voting against and 1,901 for.

Ainsley Anderson, a social studies teacher at the middle school, and Ian Sullivan, a third grade teacher at the elementary school, said they heard concerns from voters about there not being an end date to the referendum. 

The school district’s request was for a $2.49 million recurring referendum, meaning it would allow a permanent increase to the amount the district can raise through property taxes annually. It was going to be used for operating costs, filling a gap between the district’s revenue and expenses. The annual cost of the request was more modest than the district’s nonrecurring request in November, which would have allowed an increase of $2.99 million annually for four years, but failed by 113 votes.

“People are scared right now with the economy and everything,” Sullivan said. “It’s a very interesting stock market, and… I mean, eggs are $8.”

The educators said they knew the cuts were a possibility if the referendum failed. 

“The administration and the school board have been very clear… it wasn’t a shock that this was going to happen,” Anderson said. 

“It’s difficult,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of emotion, even with it being communicated well to us.” 

“You never want to hear about your colleagues losing their job,” Anderson added. 

The pair of educators met Tuesday with about 10 Democratic lawmakers, including members of the Joint Finance Committee, and about 20 other community members, including parents and school board members, at a community center in Dodgeville. They discussed the situation and the potential for lawmakers to act in the state budget to ease the financial challenges the district and others across the state are facing.

Dodgeville’s situation is a familiar story in Wisconsin as school districts have been relying on property tax hikes that need to be approved by voters for everyday costs while state funding has not kept pace with inflation for the last decade and a half.

“We know that so many families have been forced to raise their own property taxes in order to support their public schools, and that’s a difficult choice,” Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) said at the start of the event. 

Democratic lawmakers used the event as a moment to highlight Gov. Tony Evers’ plan for helping school districts escape this trap. His plan would tap the state’s $4 billion budget surplus to increase special education funding by reimbursing public schools for 60% of costs — almost double the current reimbursement rate of 32%, to increase per pupil funding and to invest in other programs, including free school meals and mental health programs. 

Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) emphasized that lawmakers wanted to hear about people’s specific stories as a way to help inform their work on the budget committee.

“We know how many referendums there are. We know that some succeed and some fail,” Andraca said. In April, voters approved 52 referendum requests for a total of $952 million in new money for Wisconsin school districts that is funded through property taxes. There were 37 failed referendum requests, including Dodgeville’s. “We want to know the impacts that it’s having with you and your families and your schools on the ground,” Andraca added, “because that’s what makes our work more meaningful.” 

At a table with McGuire, a couple of parents spoke about their concerns about the ways the district will change.

Jennifer Williamson said she has two children in the school district and they’ve appreciated the small class sizes of between 14 and 18 children. Those class sizes on average will grow by four to five students due to financial constraints.

Stephany Marten told the table that she and her husband debated over whether to send their child to the local school district or to a local private school. They decided on Dodgeville. She said she learned more about the district and what it had to offer, including smaller class sizes, reading specialists and opportunities for students that need additional support. 

“It’s accessible and it’s affordable to all families,” Marten said. “Our public school funding is being cut. What are we spending it on?”

McGuire, throughout the conversation, emphasized people should reach their Republican lawmakers. The Democrats brought their conversion about education funding to a school district and area of the state represented by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) — cochair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee.

Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate and Assembly and Marklein has served as cochair on the committee since 2021, meaning he plays a large part in shaping the budget bill that will eventually be sent to Evers if approved by the full Legislature. Marklein said at a recent public hearing on the budget that lawmakers haven’t discussed specifics on education funding in the budget, but will likely take into account what the public shares.

“Your state senator, Howard Marklein, has a tremendous amount of influence,” McGuire said. “So we have to continue to reach out to him.” He added that people should speak with their neighbors as well to encourage them to reach out to the lawmakers.

One person asked McGuire what is keeping Republicans from dedicating more funding to schools.

“I wish I knew,” McGuire said. “If I knew what levers to pull, I would’ve done it four years ago.”

The impacts of the failed referendum in Dodgeville could likely go beyond those announced by the school district administration, Anderson noted. Some staff will say, ”I can’t work with the district that has two failed referendums because of pay cuts, health care,”  he suggested, adding, “We’ve lost people to going elsewhere.”

The Dodgeville educators also participated in a conversation with Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Randy Udell (D-Fitchburg) and Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie). 

Another educator at the table, Tom Butusov, formerly taught at the Dodgeville School District but left for a job at Mount Horeb Area School District — a community about a 20-minute drive away — about three years ago.

“When I got a job teaching in Dodgeville, I was very excited,” Butusov, who taught at the district for about three years, said. He grew up in the community and his mom also taught in the district. “But I learned pretty early on that because of just what the district can offer… I had to go elsewhere to best serve my family,” Butusov said. He said Mt. Horeb could pay more and it was close to a new house his family was purchasing. “It made sense, but I still love this community.” 

Butusov said the failed referendum is “heartbreaking.” He said he doesn’t blame the community because they’re being asked to pay for something they’ve already paid for and he isn’t mad at the district because he feels the state has put the district in the spot. 

“We have an entire district that’s falling through the crack and the state is doing nothing — nothing for us, and that’s what’s so frustrating is to see representatives that just aren’t doing anything,” Butusov said.

Anderson and Sullivan, who are also co-presidents of the Dodgeville teacher’s union, have children who go to the district as well. Anderson said she knows that even as budgets have shrunk, teachers are still working to provide a high quality education to students and are going to continue to work to do that even as some opportunities may be cut.

Sullivan said he and his wife have had discussions about whether they’ll leave the district. 

“We’re getting rid of field trips. We’re getting rid of after school clubs, opportunities at the high school and stuff. Do we want that for our kids?” Sullivan said. He added that the community is a big reason he was there and that it is “fighting to get more funding and give more opportunities not only to our own kids,” but to other students, especially those dealing with poverty and other challenges at home. 

Anderson said she would love to have a conversation with “Mr. Marklein and Mr. Novak about what they envision as the future of education in their districts.” She said she was feeling inspired to contact the local lawmakers and to encourage other members of the Dodgeville education association to do the same.

“Obviously, we’re doing everything that we can,” Anderson said. “What are they doing?” 

Sullivan said that he appreciated hearing specific budget plans from Democrats.

“I have not heard that from the other side. I would love that opportunity to hear it,” Sullivan said. “At the moment, I’m only hearing one side. The other is just saying no to everything, which I don’t think is OK.”

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AG Josh Kaul speaks at a town hall in Green Bay. | Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul spoke to a crowd at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay last Thursday about crime victims’ services and Wisconsin’s response to  actions taken by the Trump administration.

Kaul said Wisconsin is currently involved in 11 multi-state lawsuits challenging various actions of the federal government. Among them are cases related to massive staffing cuts in the U.S. Department of Education, termination of health funding and an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Kaul said many programs are being changed drastically. He discussed possible impacts of Social Security staff cuts as an example and encouraged people to reach out to the Wisconsin Department of Justice and share how these policy changes are affecting them.

Last month, Kaul unsuccessfully attempted to block Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks at an event supporting Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, who lost the recent election to Susan Crawford. The state Supreme Court turned down Kaul’s petition.

In Kaul’s opinion, “having rules that regulate petitions that are circulated right before an election, having rules that make clear that inducements to register to vote are problematic would be helpful,” he said. “And I think having statutes that make clear what it means to induce somebody to vote would be helpful.”

Kaul also described his pitch for money for services for crime victims in the state budget. Lower allocations from the federal Victims of Crime Act left providers scrambling, and Kaul said some providers have cut back on their hours and some have cut back on services. 

“Crime victim services, for those of you who aren’t familiar, can make a critical difference in the lives of people who are victims of crime,” Kaul said. “…They can help ensure that the victim’s rights are protected.”

Crime victim services can also help lead a person “to want to work with law enforcement and hold a perpetrator accountable, and that makes all of us safer,” he said. 

“So, essentially, what we’re talking about at the current level of funding is programs being stretched to the breaking point,” Kaul said. “That’s something I’ve heard from victim advocates.”

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Jennifer Williamson said she enjoyed the class sizes in Dodgeville. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The effects of a second failed referendum at Dodgeville School District became immediately apparent this week with the district announcing that 13 staff members along with some programs, including electives and extracurriculars, are to be cut. The April referendum failed last week by 109 votes with 2010 people voting against and 1,901 for.

Ainsley Anderson, a social studies teacher at the middle school, and Ian Sullivan, a third grade teacher at the elementary school, said they heard concerns from voters about there not being an end date to the referendum. 

The school district’s request was for a $2.49 million recurring referendum, meaning it would allow a permanent increase to the amount the district can raise through property taxes annually. It was going to be used for operating costs, filling a gap between the district’s revenue and expenses. The annual cost of the request was more modest than the district’s nonrecurring request in November, which would have allowed an increase of $2.99 million annually for four years, but failed by 113 votes.

“People are scared right now with the economy and everything,” Sullivan said. “It’s a very interesting stock market, and… I mean, eggs are $8.”

The educators said they knew the cuts were a possibility if the referendum failed. 

“The administration and the school board have been very clear… it wasn’t a shock that this was going to happen,” Anderson said. 

“It’s difficult,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of emotion, even with it being communicated well to us.” 

“You never want to hear about your colleagues losing their job,” Anderson added. 

The pair of educators met Tuesday with about 10 Democratic lawmakers, including members of the Joint Finance Committee, and about 20 other community members, including parents and school board members, at a community center in Dodgeville. They discussed the situation and the potential for lawmakers to act in the state budget to ease the financial challenges the district and others across the state are facing.

Dodgeville’s situation is a familiar story in Wisconsin as school districts have been relying on property tax hikes that need to be approved by voters for everyday costs while state funding has not kept pace with inflation for the last decade and a half.

“We know that so many families have been forced to raise their own property taxes in order to support their public schools, and that’s a difficult choice,” Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) said at the start of the event. 

Democratic lawmakers used the event as a moment to highlight Gov. Tony Evers’ plan for helping school districts escape this trap. His plan would tap the state’s $4 billion budget surplus to increase special education funding by reimbursing public schools for 60% of costs — almost double the current reimbursement rate of 32%, to increase per pupil funding and to invest in other programs, including free school meals and mental health programs. 

Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) emphasized that lawmakers wanted to hear about people’s specific stories as a way to help inform their work on the budget committee.

“We know how many referendums there are. We know that some succeed and some fail,” Andraca said. In April, voters approved 52 referendum requests for a total of $952 million in new money for Wisconsin school districts that is funded through property taxes. There were 37 failed referendum requests, including Dodgeville’s. “We want to know the impacts that it’s having with you and your families and your schools on the ground,” Andraca added, “because that’s what makes our work more meaningful.” 

At a table with McGuire, a couple of parents spoke about their concerns about the ways the district will change.

Jennifer Williamson said she has two children in the school district and they’ve appreciated the small class sizes of between 14 and 18 children. Those class sizes on average will grow by four to five students due to financial constraints.

Stephany Marten told the table that she and her husband debated over whether to send their child to the local school district or to a local private school. They decided on Dodgeville. She said she learned more about the district and what it had to offer, including smaller class sizes, reading specialists and opportunities for students that need additional support. 

“It’s accessible and it’s affordable to all families,” Marten said. “Our public school funding is being cut. What are we spending it on?”

McGuire, throughout the conversation, emphasized people should reach their Republican lawmakers. The Democrats brought their conversion about education funding to a school district and area of the state represented by Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) — cochair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee.

Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate and Assembly and Marklein has served as cochair on the committee since 2021, meaning he plays a large part in shaping the budget bill that will eventually be sent to Evers if approved by the full Legislature. Marklein said at a recent public hearing on the budget that lawmakers haven’t discussed specifics on education funding in the budget, but will likely take into account what the public shares.

“Your state senator, Howard Marklein, has a tremendous amount of influence,” McGuire said. “So we have to continue to reach out to him.” He added that people should speak with their neighbors as well to encourage them to reach out to the lawmakers.

One person asked McGuire what is keeping Republicans from dedicating more funding to schools.

“I wish I knew,” McGuire said. “If I knew what levers to pull, I would’ve done it four years ago.”

The impacts of the failed referendum in Dodgeville could likely go beyond those announced by the school district administration, Anderson noted. Some staff will say, ”I can’t work with the district that has two failed referendums because of pay cuts, health care,”  he suggested, adding, “We’ve lost people to going elsewhere.”

The Dodgeville educators also participated in a conversation with Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Randy Udell (D-Fitchburg) and Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie). 

Another educator at the table, Tom Butusov, formerly taught at the Dodgeville School District but left for a job at Mount Horeb Area School District — a community about a 20-minute drive away — about three years ago.

“When I got a job teaching in Dodgeville, I was very excited,” Butusov, who taught at the district for about three years, said. He grew up in the community and his mom also taught in the district. “But I learned pretty early on that because of just what the district can offer… I had to go elsewhere to best serve my family,” Butusov said. He said Mt. Horeb could pay more and it was close to a new house his family was purchasing. “It made sense, but I still love this community.” 

Butusov said the failed referendum is “heartbreaking.” He said he doesn’t blame the community because they’re being asked to pay for something they’ve already paid for and he isn’t mad at the district because he feels the state has put the district in the spot. 

“We have an entire district that’s falling through the crack and the state is doing nothing — nothing for us, and that’s what’s so frustrating is to see representatives that just aren’t doing anything,” Butusov said.

Anderson and Sullivan, who are also co-presidents of the Dodgeville teacher’s union, have children who go to the district as well. Anderson said she knows that even as budgets have shrunk, teachers are still working to provide a high quality education to students and are going to continue to work to do that even as some opportunities may be cut.

Sullivan said he and his wife have had discussions about whether they’ll leave the district. 

“We’re getting rid of field trips. We’re getting rid of after school clubs, opportunities at the high school and stuff. Do we want that for our kids?” Sullivan said. He added that the community is a big reason he was there and that it is “fighting to get more funding and give more opportunities not only to our own kids,” but to other students, especially those dealing with poverty and other challenges at home. 

Anderson said she would love to have a conversation with “Mr. Marklein and Mr. Novak about what they envision as the future of education in their districts.” She said she was feeling inspired to contact the local lawmakers and to encourage other members of the Dodgeville education association to do the same.

“Obviously, we’re doing everything that we can,” Anderson said. “What are they doing?” 

Sullivan said that he appreciated hearing specific budget plans from Democrats.

“I have not heard that from the other side. I would love that opportunity to hear it,” Sullivan said. “At the moment, I’m only hearing one side. The other is just saying no to everything, which I don’t think is OK.”

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People from across southeast Wisconsin gathered in the Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center Friday. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.)

People from across southeast Wisconsin gathered in the Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center Friday to call on legislators to fund a range of priorities in the next state budget — from education to a new public safety building for Milwaukee to public transportation to child care.

The public hearing of the Joint Finance Committee was the second of four across the state this month. A hearing was also held in Kaukauna last week, and Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the committee agreed Friday morning that education funding was one of the top issues discussed. 

Committee co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said at a press conference that funding for school districts and the fate of the Green Bay prison were two of the biggest issues discussed during the first hearing. He said lawmakers haven’t discussed any specifics yet when it comes to actions they may take on public school funding, adding that K-12 funding has historically been the No. 1 largest item in the budget and it’ll likely be that way in the future.

“We’re here to listen and input today may influence what we decide to do down the road,” Marklein said.

Co-chair Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) added that the lawsuit over Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that extended increases in revenue limits — the cap on how much schools can bring in — for 400 years will play a role in the discussion. The case was heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court last year, but a decision hasn’t been reached yet.

Lawmakers also have a $4 billion budget surplus that they will be considering as they write the budget in the coming months. 

During a separate press conference held by Democrats on the committee, Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) called attention to education funding, saying that lawmakers need to “stand up and fund education, particularly special education.” Andraca said lawmakers should adopt Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, which would invest an additional $3 billion in K-12 education. 

“I’m looking forward to hearing more today from all the people at this public hearing about what their priorities are in the state budget. I certainly hope my Republican colleagues are listening and will follow our lead,” Andraca said. 

A focus on education at the hearings continued as members of the public started speaking on Friday.

School leaders and advocates emphasize dire situation

Three days before the town hall, voters approved 57 referendum requests and a total of $952 million in new funding through property tax hikes for Wisconsin school districts. This was an approval rate of about 58% of the nonrecurring operating referendum requests, 65% of requests for building costs and 20% of recurring requests, which contain increases across multiple years. 

While the successful results will help school districts meet costs in coming months, voters also denied over $640 million in requests from other districts, including for Kenosha Unified School District.

Kenosha school board member Todd Price said the failed referendum, which was a $115 million nonrecurring request for operational expenses, leaves the district of 18,500 students in 31 schools facing a $19 million fiscal deficit. 

“As we are frozen in what we can raise due to revenue caps, we needed to go to our local tax payers for approval of the money,” Price said. “Our aim was to keep our class sizes reasonable, vital programs intact like advanced placement programs… which are popular for students aiming to go to college, and we want to retain our staff.” 

KUSD Superintendent Jeff Weiss, who spoke alongside Price, told lawmakers that they have the power to “be a strong partner of public education.” He said the passage of Act 20, a 2023 law to change literacy education in the state is a recent example of lawmakers using that power. 

“I am asking you to do this in the area of finances,” Weiss said. “By raising the reimbursement for special education to 60%, KUSD will receive $13 million of spendable money. We are currently facing a $19 million budget shortfall. $13 million as well as raising the revenue limit… will go a very long way to helping prevent the district from having to seek an operational referendum in the coming year.”

Weiss emphasized that the resources needed to pursue a referendum are “immense.” He said the district held four town halls, 20 small meetings, and five interviews with TV and radio stations in a six-week period ahead of Election Day. 

“This is not how I want to spend our time in the school district,” Weiss said. “I would much rather be using that time to increase student learning and improve our educational program.”

Swallow School District Superintendent Jill Ries said that the small district in Waukesha County has a history of being fiscally responsible, a trait that has helped it weather the “storm” caused by the state’s funding formula.

“We can no longer weather the storm, and we are facing a multi-million-dollar deficit in the future. We have reached the fiscal cliff. We can choose to have barebones public education, but is that what we want our state to become?” Ries asked.

Ries also called on lawmakers to increase revenue limits and at a minimum increase the special education reimbursement to 60%. 

Zachary Geiger, a physics teacher at Greendale High School, also voiced his support for Evers’ budget request, telling lawmakers that teachers have been trying to accomplish more teaching and learning with fewer resources for the last decade and a half. He said this is catching up with the district, which has had to go to referendum and recently had to cut an engineering course for the first time in 12 years.

“Instead of supporting students in pursuit of their futures and responding to the needs of the industries in Wisconsin, this course was cut with many others to reduce costs in order to balance a budget dependent on insufficient funding from the state,” Geiger said. “Please fund public education.”

The tension between public schools’ financial challenges and the growing costs of the state’s school voucher programs was also on display at the hearing.

Glendale River Hills School Board President Carla Pennington-Cross called on lawmakers to stop using school boards as a “laundering service” by sending an increasing amount of taxpayer money to private schools that don’t have “equal accountability, equal transparency and equal legal obligation” to students. 

Pennington-Cross called on lawmakers to increase per pupil funding to keep up with inflation. 

“Your long-term failure to do so means that my district has lost more than $3 million in real spending power since 2009 under your revenue limits,” Pennington-Cross said. 

Pennington-Cross called attention to the significant increases that voucher schools received in the last budget cycle. She also spoke to the disparity between the rate that public schools are reimbursed for special education costs and the rate that private and charter voucher schools receive. 

“In the past year public schools were reimbursed for only 32% of special ed costs, while private schools received 90%. Why are students with disabilities worth less when they go to public schools? They should get the same financial support from the state regardless of their school choice,” Pennington-Cross said. “Your funding model causes people to blame kids with disabilities for budget shortfalls in public schools, reinforcing stigma and discrimination. It is unconscionable.” 

Choice advocates appreciative of last investments, seeking more 

Advocates for more state funding for the charter and private schools that participate in the state’s voucher programs were also out in full force. 

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks for the additional funding for school choice. Your decision has made an incredible difference for families like mine,” one parent of a student at Living Word Lutheran High School in Jackson said.

In the last state budget, lawmakers implemented the largest increase for the school voucher program in Wisconsin history. The change increased payments for schools at a minimum by 18% and at most by 44%. 

Many of the parents who testified for school vouchers wore matching bright green “Parent Power” t-shirts. A group of about 75 parents were organized to attend the listening session by the City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee-based organization that advocates for school choice. 

Executive director of City Forward Collective Colleston Morgan told the Wisconsin Examiner that the last budget was an example of state leaders moving past “partisan rancor” to take action, something he is hoping they’ll be able to do again.

“We saw the Legislature come together on a package that in our understanding benefited everybody — increases in the low revenue ceiling, lifting of the revenue limits and, yes, a significant increase for students in charter and private schools,” Morgan said. “Nobody got everything they needed… but everybody got something.” 

Morgan said that there were many participating charter and private schools that were “in existential crisis” during that cycle, and the historic increase to the program helped stabilize the situation. He said many schools have been able to increase staff pay. 

“There’s still more work to do, but we’re not today talking about schools on the precipice of closing like we were two years ago,” Morgan said. 

Morgan said his group wanted to attend to express thanks and encourage legislators to continue to work in a bipartisan way to get more accomplished, including raising the special education reimbursement rate, lifting the low revenue ceiling and putting additional funding into the voucher program. 

Milwaukee leaders on their goals for next budget

Local leaders who spoke at the hearing included Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who thanked lawmakers for their work last session to secure an increased sales tax in the city. He said the investments in the last budget show that “working together and investing in Milwaukee benefits all of us because a strong Milwaukee means a strong Wisconsin.”

Johnson called on lawmakers to invest in young people in the next state budget, including by increasing funding for Milwaukee’s Earn & Learn program, a summer employment program where youth can gain experience working with local businesses, nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations. He also called on lawmakers to support Evers’ proposal for investing in 4-year-old kindergarten and increasing state funding for special education and child care.

“It’s our responsibility to ensure that the youngest residents here and young families have the support they need to start off on the right foot as they enter school and the workforce,” Johnson said.

Sarah Kazell, an advocate with Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN), is attending all the budget listening sessions.

“Child care is a public good and without public investment, it just dwindles and dies in the private market, which is what we are seeing,” Kazell said. “We cannot find teachers willing to do a really essential, really high-skilled, high-stress job for $14 an hour, which is the average pay in my field. I’m personally making $12.50 an hour to take care of eight children.”

Evers has requested the state place $480 million towards the Child Care Counts program, which gives facilities funds to help pay staff without raising costs for parents. However, the program, which has been funded with federal money, is quickly approaching the end of those funds. 

“We need at the minimum to make the investment that’s in the governor’s budget for child care, but that’s honestly just a starting point to be able to stabilize the field,” Kazell said. 

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said the “most important” investment for public safety would be to fund the removal and replacement of the Public Safety building. 

“We have steered clear of a fiscal cliff. We kept the Brewers in Milwaukee, we shared the burden of funding important services and investments with some of our region’s most urgent issues being addressed,” he said, listing accomplishments in the last budget cycle. Now, he added, it’s time to focus on the “generational impact that we can have in our community on public safety.” 

Crowley said that the removal and the replacement of the Milwaukee County Public Safety building, which was built in 1929, would cost $495 million. Milwaukee County has requested $250 million for the project from the state. According to the capital budget, due to the integrated nature of the county’s Courthouse Complex, the Historic Courthouse and Criminal Justice Facility will need to be renovated in addition to the new Public Safety building. 

Evers’ budget proposal included $25 million for the project — a tenth of their request.

“Many of you have seen this crumbling, unsafe and inefficient facility firsthand and that’s why, in order to improve outcomes for all, strong partnerships will be key in this endeavor,” Crowley said. 

Crowley said almost 80% of Milwaukee County’s property tax levy is dedicated to state-mandated services and the county has invested an additional $70 million in state-mandated public safety services over the last five years. 

“The cost continues to rise and outpace our revenues and challenges our ability to continue funding these critical services and make any additional investments in local priorities like transportation, mental health, [services for children ages] birth-to-3,” Crowley said. “That’s why a partnership with the state is essential.” 

Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball expanded on the request to replace the deteriorating building that houses the jail.

Ball said the current set-up of the building, which places victims, family members, visitors and defendants together, has created tension and resulted in 852 security incidents that required a response from the sheriff’s office in 2024.

“It is not sustainable to continue working as we have, and it is not fair to those who come in contact with our justice system,” Ball said. “In order to address the significant safety concerns and preserve the comfortability of core operations, funding from the state of Wisconsin will be critical.”

Other public hearings will be held in Hayward and Wausau during the last week of April.

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'The incompetence and lack of qualifications of some MPS staff put our children in harm’s way, and this is the result of decades of intentional neglect from state policymakers who starve public schools of the resources needed to keep them safe and functional.' | Getty Images

I am a proud parent of a first grader in Milwaukee Public Schools. We are an open enrollment family, meaning that even though we don’t live in the district, we choose to send our kids to MPS because we love our public school’s mission, curriculum, and teachers. But right now, my daughter’s school is closed. Not because of a snowstorm or a spring break, but because the building is so contaminated with lead that it is undergoing emergency remediation. 

As we work to unravel how deep the lead problem goes and how we’re going to fix it, we know that two things are true: 1) the incompetence and lack of qualifications of some MPS staff has put our children in harm’s way, and 2) this is the result of decades of intentional neglect from state policymakers who starve public schools of the resources needed to keep them safe and functional. While there’s blame to go around within the school system, it extends far beyond Milwaukee—all the way to the statehouse.

But let’s take a step back for a moment: imagine a thriving community garden. Lush with fruits and veggies, it’s a vibrant hub of cooperation. Gardeners, volunteers, and neighbors work side by side, cultivating a space that nourishes the entire community. 

And now, imagine a group of lawmakers find out about this garden and see it not for what it provides to the community, but as an opportunity for political favors. They want it. But they can’t take it outright—not yet. So instead they sabotage it, slowly and methodically.

First, they put limits on water usage. Next, they dilute the fertilizer. Then, they restrict access to tools, making it harder for the gardeners to do their work. As the plants begin to wither, the weeds take over. The once-thriving garden now appears neglected and struggling, despite the community doing their best with what they’ve been given. 

Then, the lawmakers point the finger at the very people who have been desperately trying to keep the garden alive. “You’re failing.” they say. 

And with that, they present their “solution.” “This garden can’t be saved,” they declare. “It’s time to give this land to someone who can do something with it.”

So they sell the land to a private company—one that rips out the plants and paves over the garden to install a private- pay parking lot. The community is locked out, the public loses, and the private company profits. “It’s better for everyone this way,” the lawmakers insist, knowing full well who really benefits.

But they aren’t done yet. In return for their part in the heist, they collect their rewards—  campaign donations, future job offers. A shared community resource is gone, transformed into private gain.

This is what’s happening to Milwaukee Public Schools.

Most MPS parents love and appreciate so much about our own public schools for the vibrant, nurturing communities they are—and for all they could be with the right support. But for years, some lawmakers in Madison have been quietly undermining our public education system — capping resources, limiting access and restricting funding. They’ve been misrepresenting outdated formulas to intentionally starve our public schools, making it harder for teachers and administrators to provide the quality education our kids deserve. Milwaukee voters recently passed a big referendum because people in the community want to support our schools. The news about poor financial reporting that followed that successful referendum drive was extremely discouraging. But problems with school administration pale in comparison to the impossible conditions the state has created for our schools. When they inevitably struggle under those conditions (frustrating every singe one of us) the same lawmakers who have been withholding funds shake their heads and blame the administrators and educators who have been forced to do more with less.

What happens next? They argue that public schools have failed and insist that privatization is the only answer. They push to divert public funds into private hands — voucher schools, for-profit education corporations and other institutions that lack the transparency and accountability of public education, but promise big profits for those in power.

They spout platitudes about how much they care about improving education, but they have had every chance to help us nourish our gardens and have resisted at every turn. We cannot let them gaslight us into dismantling a public good for private enrichment and turning our children’s future into a business model that benefits the few at the expense of the many.

Because here’s the truth: Our public schools are not failing. They are being sabotaged. There are some powerful Madison lawmakers who are forcing our school administrators to choose between things like fixing peeling paint in classrooms or hiring a new teacher, all so they can have someone to blame– when in reality, they themselves are the ones who have failed to provide enough for our kids to thrive in all the ways they deserve. They’ve been playing us for a long con, but we’re onto them. 

We must demand true nourishment and resources for our public schools. We must reject the false narrative of “failure” that is being used to justify their destruction. And we must hold lawmakers accountable for the choices they make—because our children’s education should never be for sale.

This year, Madison lawmakers will decide how resources are allocated to our schools through the state budget process. The State Joint Finance Committee is currently holding public listening sessions on the budget. They need to hear from all of us what our kids need and deserve. We must work together to ensure our public schools– where so much of our kids’ childhoods happen– are deeply nourished for the good of us all.  

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UW President Jay Rothman tells lawmakers that this will be a “make it or break it” budget for the UW system. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Leaders of the Universities of Wisconsin and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) defended Gov. Tony Evers’ budget requests to lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee during a meeting Tuesday. 

The hearing marks the start of lawmakers’ official work on the state budget, which will continue this week with public hearings in Kaukauna on Wednesday and West Allis on Friday. 

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (Beaver Dam), co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, said during a press conference ahead of the meeting that they were looking for “justification” on the “massive” requests from the UW and wanted an explanation of the plan for DOC. 

“[The DOC request is] lacking in a lot of details and seems to be a little short of being able to accomplish its mission, but I’m interested to hear more about how they arrived at that and why they made some of the decisions they made and hopefully provide some information that will allow us to improve that plan and make sure that it’s a good plan for the future of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and for public safety here in Wisconsin,” Born said.

In the past, lawmakers have heard from a greater number of agencies about their requests. During the last budget cycle, lawmakers heard from four agencies, including DOC, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Safety and Professional Services and the Department of Administration. That year, state Superintendent Jill Underly traveled to Eau Claire to talk to lawmakers about the Department of Public Instruction budget after not getting an invitation to speak. 

The lawmakers said it would have been a “waste of their time and our time” to hold briefings with other agencies.

“[The agency leaders] just have not been straight with us on things. They just don’t want to really talk about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,” Born said. He said lawmakers were hopeful that the UW and DOC would work with them to answer some questions. 

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman told lawmakers during the briefing that he agrees with Gov Tony Evers’ assessment that this will be a “make it or break it” budget for the UW system. Evers’ request for the UW includes an additional $856 million, which would be one of the largest investments in the university campuses in state history. 

Rothman acknowledged that the request is “significant” but he emphasized that Wisconsin currently sits at 43rd out of 50 when it comes to state investment in public universities. The investments in the request would bring the system up to the median nationwide. 

Rothman explained to lawmakers that inflation and a lack of state investment over the last three decades to meet increasing costs has hindered the UW system. 

UW schools have worked to make changes, he said. When he started as president in June 2022, Rothman said 10 of the system’s 13 campuses were running fiscal deficits. That number is now six and should hit zero over the next year or so. He also noted there have been six two-year colleges that have closed or will close this year.

Rothman called the reforms necessary and said that the changes position the system for sound investments from the state. 

“We have to be asking ourselves a question: who will teach our children and grandchildren? Where will the nurses come from that will help care for our families and perhaps ourselves? Where will the engineers come from?” Rothman told lawmakers.

Rothman explained that the proposals seek to address five goals including increasing affordability, accessibility, developing talent, ensuring quality and investing in innovation.

“You cannot cut your way to success,” Rothman said. “You need to invest.” 

Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) asked Rothman what would happen if the state did not fund the requests. 

“If we get the budget funded, we will not have to raise tuition. If we don’t get funded at an adequate level, that’s one of the levers… that I don’t want to have to use,” Rothman said. “I want to be able to maintain the accessibility that our students get, but we will do what we need to do, and it won’t be just one piece. That will be multiple levers, and we get more efficient in some places. We have to stop offerings, programs at certain universities.”

Republican lawmakers grilled Rothman on “administrative bloat” across the system and requests for additional positions and funding from the UW schools. 

The budget request would add 214 positions funded by state general purpose revenue to UW campuses. Rothman noted that UW campuses, excluding flagship UW-Madison, have lost 6,000 positions funded by the state since 2019. 

Born asked why there was a request for 13 additional staff members to support students who have aged out of the foster care system. He noted that a 2023-24 report found there were 420 of those students across the system. 

“I’m trying to wrap my head around — you talked about strategic investments, sound investments, and you’re asking for 13 positions, one on every campus to serve 420 kids?” Born asked. 

Rothman said the intention would be to expand the number of students who could be supported. 

“They’ve had a tough lot in life to start with,”  Rothman said, adding that the additional staffing  could give those students a leg up. “I would hope that we could expand that number.” 

Rothman also said that the specific request is part of the general goal of investing in students to ensure they make it to graduation. 

“If you look at the positions that we have asked for, they are all student-facing. We are trying to help our students be successful,” Rothman said. 

“This is a shining example of the governor’s desire to grow government and your desire to grow your system, and it’s not focused on the reality of how you invest in this stuff,” Born said. 

Born also focused on the idea of funding new programs on UW campuses. 

“Why would we need to fund a curriculum of the future? Isn’t there things that are fading away, things that are no longer of interest to students, things are no longer of interest to the workforce? Shouldn’t there be funds available to offer new things?” Born asked. 

Rothman said that the UW system has cut about 100 programs already. 

“So you’ve eliminated about 100 programs, but you can’t fund a new program and curriculum and AI without more funding?” Born continued. 

“I think the fact of the matter is if we had kept up with inflation in terms of our state support, we’d be in a different position,” Rothman answered. 

Corrections budget 

DOC Sec-designee Jared Hoy also defended Evers’ proposals during the hearing, saying that policy changes, increased investments and capital projects are needed to improve safety in facilities across the state. The proposal, Hoy said, is “not simply a list of funding requests” but is a “blueprint for the future” of state corrections. 

Under the proposal, the state would invest about $634 million in the DOC. The majority of the money would be used to fund major reforms throughout the state’s prisons including infrastructure upgrades and capital improvements to Waupun Correctional Institution, Lincoln Hills School, Stanley Correctional Institution, Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center and John C. Burke Correctional Center. The improvements would culminate in the closure of the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

Hoy told lawmakers that the budget proposal was developed through conversations with DOC staff, legislators and outside experts with a focus on “safety for those in our communities and the people that work in our facilities every day.” 

The proposal also includes some policy changes meant to help limit recidivism, including by expanding access to workforce training and substance use treatment for people who have 48 months or less left in their sentences for nonviolent offenses.

“A system that prioritizes re-entry and release, but fails to reduce recidivism is not truly safe. A facility that contains individuals but is dangerous and unstable inside its walls is not safe,” Hoy said. “Safety must be both measured by what happens inside the walls of our facilities, and by what happens when a person releases into the community.”

Hoy said that he hoped lawmakers would see some of their thoughts and ideas for the agency reflected in the plan.

“The governor’s budget request is an opportunity for our state to come together and use our taxpayers’ money responsibly to help keep our children and our communities safe,” Hoy said.

The idea that some lawmakers have floated of building a new facility would take significantly more time and money, he added. 

“Our agency does not have time to wait 10 to 12 years for a new facility to be built,” Hoy said.

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Gov. Tony Evers delivers his state budget address on Feb. 18, 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Wisconsin Policy Forum cautions state lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers to consider the state’s past financial hardships when writing the next state budget in a new brief released Friday. 

The report considers the state’s current financial position, Evers’ budget proposal, potential wants from Republican lawmakers and outside factors, including federal funding uncertainty, to explore questions lawmakers may consider in the coming months. And it suggests the state could be nearing a dramatic turn in its fortunes.

Evers introduced a vast budget proposal last month, and the process is now in the hands of lawmakers, who are likely to throw out Evers’ version, host public hearings and then write their own proposal. Lawmakers will then need to pass the bill in the Senate and Assembly before it goes to Evers, who will either sign it as is, sign it with partial vetoes or veto the whole bill.

“Throughout the 2000s, the state carried almost no reserves, leaving it exposed to the terrible fury of the Great Recession,” the report states. “Most of today’s lawmakers were not in their current offices during that dark time, and did not face the multi-billion-dollar shortfalls that had to be bridged in both 2009 and 2011 at great cost and sacrifice by taxpayers, schools, local governments and public workers.” 

The report notes that “prudent decisions” by Republican and Democratic leaders have helped bolster the state’s finances and put Wisconsin in a position to “weather a recession much more effectively.” 

By the end of the current budget, the state’s budget surplus will have gone from $7.1 billion to $ 4.3 billion, and Republicans and Democrats are both looking at the remaining surplus to fund their priorities for the next budget. The state also has a $1.9 billion rainy day fund. The report noted that this balance is greater than the state had throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s. 

Gov. Tony Evers has introduced a budget that would increase state spending by 19% to fund increased investments in K-12 education, health care, child care and transportation. It would cut taxes for low- and middle-income residents and raise them on the state’s highest earners. 

The spending would be paid for using the budget surplus, federal funds and revenues from  raising taxes on the wealthiest Wisconsin residents. Evers’ proposal would leave the state with $646 million. Evers has said he’s reserved that amount due to potential uncertainty about federal money, though he recently questioned whether that is enough. 

“If adopted, Evers’ plan would leave the state with a two-year structural deficit of roughly $4 billion,” the report states. “This would make it difficult to balance the 2027-29 budget, even if the economy remains strong and does not succumb to recent drops in the stock market and consumer sentiment.”

Legislature’s contrasting priorities

The final budget will likely look vastly different. 

Republican lawmakers have said that they are likely to throw out Evers’ entire proposal, and that they want to use the budget surplus to prioritize widespread tax cuts and one-time projects. Lawmakers said they may propose their tax cut plans to Evers ahead of the budget in a separate bill, which they want him to sign before the budget as a whole. Last session, Evers vetoed GOP proposals that would have cut income taxes by over $1 billion a year.

“The state’s main fund is now spending more than it takes in, and its budget reserves, while sizable, are shrinking,” the report states. “Meanwhile, the Democratic governor and GOP Legislature are eying the state’s reserves and offering tax and spending plans that would deplete it and potentially leave the state with future budget gaps.” 

The report notes that bipartisan compromise will be necessary to find a balance among varying priorities. 

“Elected officials will have to consider the advantages of retaining [the state’s] fiscal safeguards and weigh those concerns against priorities such as investing in education and holding down increases in local property taxes,” the report states. “At the moment, the two sides appear sharply divided, but it is worth remembering that they have overcome such obstacles in the past and may yet do so again.”

The report considers the uncertainty for federal money given actions in Washington by President Donald Trump and the Republican majority in Congress to cut federal spending. 

Evers’ budget leans in part on $18 billion in federal funding for programs including Medicaid, research and financial aid at UW schools and transportation projects.

The report says two objectives — preserving state funds and using state revenues to replace federal funds that are lost — “might come into tension with one another, since state spending now to make up for any cuts would leave less of a financial cushion for the state in the future.” 

School spending, child care

The report also considers the growing number of school referendum votes across the state and ways to slow them, and it says lawmakers will want to ask how “aggressively” they want to act in response to that trend. Evers has proposed tying revenue limits to inflation, increasing state per-pupil aid and special education funding.

“If all of these increases came to fruition, they would likely curb referenda and property tax increases,” the report states. “However, they would also sharply increase state spending and are unlikely to pass the Legislature as written.” 

It also touches on the challenges facing the child care industry. Evers is proposing dedicating $480 million to invest in the industry to continue the Child Care Counts program, which provides money to child care providers to help them meet costs but will run out by July. 

The report cites tens of thousands of parents unable to find care as well as large numbers of centers unable to fill all their openings for care for lack of staff.

“We highlight these sobering figures not to advocate for or against such an investment but to note that child care accounts for a sizable chunk of the overall economy. To make an impact on child care costs, access, and quality that families in particular would notice, policymakers would have to free up substantial resources within the state budget from one of a limited number of revenue options,” the report states. 

Other potential avenues to address the child care industry’s needs include using the TANF block grant to tap  federal funds, implementing a mechanism to split child care costs among  families, employers and the state, and enacting tax incentives.

The report also considers Evers’ $500 million prison reform proposal to close Lincoln Hills School for boys and Copper Lake School for girls, renovate Waupun Correctional Institution and close Green Bay Correctional Institution. It notes that even if Evers’ plan was approved there could be some challenges to implementation given that rates of reconviction and re-arrest haven’t changed significantly.

“The governor’s ‘domino’ plan also requires many steps to fall into place correctly in order to reshape the state’s correctional system,” the report states. “If any step fails, the state’s prisons could remain overcrowded with even less time to find a solution.” 

The report expects the budget will draw on the budget surplus in light of the state’s ongoing challenges. It cautions, however, that “taxpayers have good reason to watch both sides in this process carefully to ensure the final budget does not erode too many of the state’s hard-won financial gains.”

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Gov. Tony Evers speaks to a group in Port Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 25, about highlights in his proposal for the state's 2025-27 budget. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

PORT WASHINGTON — Holding forth for a crowd of more than two dozen people gathered upstairs from a local coffee shop, Gov. Tony Evers recapped his budget pitch Tuesday for a friendly audience.

The governor highlighted his proposals to hold down or cut taxes for the middle class, increase school funding with particular attention to special education, and make a sustained investment in child care providers.

Evers is touting his budget for providing $2 billion “in tax relief — and it’s all everyday stuff,” he said.

Boosting state investment in public education and in shared revenue with local governments, he added, will in turn make it possible for school districts and municipalities to hold the line on property taxes.  

Evers also made a pitch — to willing ears — for the budget’s $480 million in child care support.

“That is something that, if you agree with me, you really have to work on this issue,” he said.

The governor’s 2025-27 budget  is replete with big proposals, just like each one he’s proposed since taking office in 2019, including provisions for new agencies and vows to invest in sectors that have long complained of underfunding.

And as with  each of Evers’ budgets, the Republican leaders of the state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee dismissed the governor’s proposals the night he announced them and promised to follow up by stripping all of them from the budget draft on the first day of deliberations. Every biennium since Evers was elected in 2018, they have then built the budget “from the base” — in other words, from the spending plan as enacted in the last budget cycle.

Last week they announced minutes after Evers’ budget address they would follow the familiar script.

Reaching out to voters, supporters

Tuesday’s round table with local officials, small business owners, teachers and residents of the Ozaukee County city was the second in a series that Evers began on Monday with stops in Wausau and Superior.

Evers opened the session with a brief account of his recent visit to Washington, D.C., where he and other governors met with President Donald Trump, and where “people are on pins and needles” amid the drastic changes taking place in the federal government since Trump took office.

The governor emphasized the impending tariffs Trump has vowed to impose — 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, among others — are “going to be a big deal,” potentially costing the average Wisconsin consumer $1,200 a year.

With that image as the scene setter, Evers went down a partial list of his budget’s tax proposals. He’s proposed eliminating the sales tax on medicine, utility bills, and cash tips for workers such as restaurant servers and others who are paid gratuities. Tips added to a credit card payment would not be included.

Part of the budget’s claim to $2 billion in tax relief reflects putting more state funds into education, shifting the burden for funding schools off local taxpayers.

“We will be investing heavily in public education, and that includes about $3.15 billion for K-12 schools, $800 million for University of Wisconsin System and a $60 million increase in the technical college system,” Evers said. The K-12 education money includes increasing the state’s share of special education funding, now about 30%, to 60%.

His proposal also would nearly double the personal exemption under the state income tax to $1,200 from $700.  For low- and moderate-income state residents who qualify, the state would increase the earned income tax credit. Additional tax relief is aimed at veterans and surviving spouses.

Referring to a recent blockage in federal funding that hit Head Start providers across Wisconsin and nationwide before payments resumed, Evers questioned whether the 60-year-old federal child care and early education program for low-income families might meet an early demise.

“I’m not sure Head Start will survive the federal government” under the Trump administration, Evers said. “And that would cause things to be much, much more difficult” when it comes to child care.

Child care: ‘We’re going to lose providers’

Evers recapped how federal pandemic relief funds enabled Wisconsin to bolster child care providers under the Child Care Counts program. The monthly payments enabled providers to increase wages for child care workers without raising the fees parents pay for child care, but the last payments will end this summer.

“That money is gone, and now we have an industry that is struggling,” Evers said. “If we don’t do something proactive to support them — directly support them — we’re going to lose providers.”

But so far, he added, “I’m not sure the other side gets it.”

Laura Klingelhoets, who owns and is administrator of a child care center in the community of Belgium about 10 miles north of Port Washington, said staffing remains her biggest challenge.

Klingelhoets recalled a recent conversation with a father. His teenage children “can go to work,” he told her. “My toddler cannot go to work. I need the help now — and I need you to stay open.”

Bob Steffes, vice president and general manager at Allen Edmonds, the high-end shoe manufacturer that has its factory in Port Washington, offered Evers one example of how the struggle for child care hits employers:  “We lose about 30% of our female [employees] that get pregnant,” he said.

Dana Glasstein teaches English as a second language and said she has seen “a lot of interrupted learning” for students who miss classes or put off taking them because they can’t get needed child care.

Klingelhoets said she’s had conversations with legislators on the Joint Finance Committee. “I have been very respectful in some of that lobbying,” she said, “but I have been told right to my face that women should not work — they belong at home, and child care isn’t a necessity in our state.”

School funding, lead pipes

Evers’ plan to increase the state’s contribution for special education would add “almost $3 million in our general fund for schools,” said Michael McMahon, superintendent of the Port Washington-Saukville School District. The district will hold a referendum April 1, asking voters to increase their property taxes to fund a new elementary school, replacing one built 70 years ago, McMahon said. The $59.4 million ask also includes money for deferred maintenance. 

“We’ve been taking care of our facilities,” McMahon said. “We just have had to defer that to make sure we’re putting teachers in front of kids and keeping programming.”

Provisions in Evers’ budget proposal would replace sources of lead, from old paint in buildings to lead water pipes. It contains $100 million for renovations removing lead paint in schools, home and child care centers, $7 million to replace lead water lines for home-based child care providers, and $200 million to replace homeowners’ lead service lines.

In Port Washington about 800 lead water service lines need to be replaced, said Dan Buchler, the city’s water utility director. At $7,000 a line, the cost is the responsibility of property owners. 

“We’re putting a huge burden on them,” Buchler said. “Just because you live in a house that has a lead line, you didn’t put that line in the ground. It’s not your fault.”

Urging voters to prevail on their lawmakers

Meeting with voters and urging them to let lawmakers know their concerns has been a standard political tactic for the Democratic governor as he’s confronted Republican majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

“We need to have people engage with the [budget] bill,” Evers said in a brief interview after the session. “It’s important that people understand that.”

How this year’s budget deliberations unfold could offer a glimpse into the impact of the new legislative maps enacted in 2024 that are more evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and resulted in a smaller gap between the parties in both houses after the November election.

“Some of Evers’ proposals frequently poll quite well, but a statewide audience has generally been irrelevant to the majority of GOP legislators who represent solidly red districts,” said John D. Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University who has analyzed poll results and the state’s legislative maps, in an email message.

“However, since the 2024 redistricting, Republicans from safe districts no longer make up a majority of either chamber,” Johnson said. Evers may be “hoping that the Republicans representing swing seats will feel pressure to support popular policies he proposes.” Or perhaps, he added, Evers’ tactic could simply be “a rhetorical move made with an eye to the general election in 2026.”

The same dynamic works the other way, Johnson noted: “Of course, the flip side of this is that Republican legislators regularly try to pass bills they believe to be popular but which they know Evers will veto.”

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) speaks at a WisPolitics event. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) criticized much of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal on Tuesday, saying Republicans wouldn’t get behind the spending increases and taxation proposals. He said Republican lawmakers are starting the process of coming up with their own proposals, including for a broad tax cut plan.

Evers’ 2025-27 state budget proposal dedicates $4 billion to K-12 and higher education, cuts nearly $2 billion in taxes and raises income taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents. Evers said during a Wisconsin Counties Association conference on Tuesday that his proposal was “realistic” and that he hopes the Legislature will agree. 

Vos said the plan was unrealistic, however, because it would increase state spending by about 20% and included plans to raise taxes. He also complained Evers presented his plans without speaking with lawmakers first.

Wisconsin has an estimated budget surplus of about $4 billion. Democrats are seeking greater investments in the state’s public services while Republicans want to limit state spending. 

Vos told the audience at the WisPolitics event people are thinking about the budget surplus the wrong way.

“People believe we have this huge surplus, which is true on one-time money, but we have very little money for the government to be able to expand or increase funding for programs,” Vos said.

Wants broad tax cuts

Vos said the last state budget was “really disappointing” because Republicans met Evers’ goals by increasing spending on education, but Evers vetoed most of Republicans’ tax cut proposals. In the upcoming session, Republicans will seek to focus on using the budget surplus for cutting taxes. 

Evers proposed an array of tax cuts in his budget including eliminating taxes on cash tips, sales taxes on electricity and gas for Wisconsin homes and on over-the-counter medications. Vos compared tax cuts to “chocolate cake,” saying they are all good. However, he said his caucus will likely look at doing broader tax cuts and that he wants cuts that “people can actually feel.”

“My preference is something that is ongoing and meaningful to families,” Vos said. 

Vos said that lawmakers will work to pass a tax cut bill package before the end of the budget process. 

“Hopefully that’ll get signed, but if not, unfortunately, the budget will probably have to wait until we can find consensus on that tax cut,” Vos told reporters after the event.

Evers also proposed a new tax bracket with a marginal rate of 9.8% for the state’s wealthiest residents — those making above $1 million for single filers and married joint filers. The current top tax bracket has a 7.65% rate and applies to single filers making $315,310 and joint filers making $420,420.

Vos said Republicans would not support increasing taxes.

Continued no on Medicaid expansion (even postpartum)

Evers for his fourth budget in a row proposed that Wisconsin join the 40 other states in the country that have taken the federal Medicaid expansion, which ensures coverage for people making up to 138% of the federal poverty line. One difference in this budget cycle, however, is that the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are seeking to cut Medicaid funding in order to help pay for tax cuts. The new reality, Vos said, appears to validate his ongoing opposition to accepting the federal Medicaid expansion.

“Thank goodness we never expanded Medicaid,” Vos said. 

Vos said he would prefer block grants from the federal government, and that it would be better for Wisconsin to get 90% of the money from the federal government without “strings attached” than to get 100% of the money and have to follow federal guidelines for how to spend it.

Vos was also critical of expanding postpartum Medicaid to cover new mothers for the first year after giving birth, casting doubt on a Republican-backed bill that supports Wisconsin joining the 48 other states that have done this. Currently, Wisconsin only covers up to 60 days after birth for eligible mothers. 

Evers included the extension in his budget proposal and a Republican-authored bill that would extend coverage has 23 Senate cosponsors and 67 Assembly cosponsors.

Despite the widespread bipartisan support for extending postpartum Medicaid, Vos said he was not the only person in his caucus who opposes expanding coverage. He said it doesn’t make sense to expand Medicaid coverage because those with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty line can still keep coverage after the 60 days and those who could lose coverage could seek coverage through Obamacare.

“I am not the only person in the Legislature who is opposed to it. Many Republicans are opposed to expanding welfare, it’s just they are more than happy to let me stand in front of the arrows,” Vos said.

Calls language changes ‘dystopian’

Vos also critiqued changes to the state budget proposed by Evers that would update language to be gender neutral. 

The proposal would change certain words like “father” to “parent” and “husband” to “spouse.” Another section that is about artificial insemination would change “the husband of the mother” to “the spouse of the inseminated person.”

Republicans have locked on the latter phrase to claim that Evers is trying to erase mothers and fathers. 

Evers told reporters Monday that the changes were made to ensure with “legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need,” noting that same sex couples could have been excluded from coverage under the old language. He accused Republicans of lying about the issue.

“I didn’t know that Republicans were against IVF, but apparently they are because that is what it’s about,” Evers said.

Vos said the change was “dystopian” and said the changes don’t fix any issue and Evers was just coming up with an explanation. He later told reporters that the language made the state a “national embarrassment.” 

Prison reform

Vos also complained about Evers’ process for coming up with a plan to reform the state’s prisons, saying he should have included lawmakers in developing it.

The proposed plan, which would cost over $500 million, would make wide changes to many of the state’s facilities including transitioning Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth correctional facilities into adult facilities, updating Waupun Correctional Institution, the state’s oldest prison, and eventually closing Green Bay Correctional Institution.

Vos said it’s known that lawmakers have had an interest in the issue and questioned why they weren’t consulted in developing the plan.

“He chose not to do that because he has one way of operating, which is his way or the highway. Those of us that have some interest in corrections reform will get together and come up with our own package and present it to the governor and say, ‘Here it is,’” Vos said.

DPI and Supreme Court elections

Vos also weighed in on Wisconsin’s upcoming spring elections. 

State Superintendent Jill Underly, the Democratic-backed candidate, is running for a second term in office against education consultant Brittany Kinser, the Republican-backed candidate. 

Vos said that Kinser is “the best candidate” because she supports school choice and appears willing to work with the Legislature. He added that he isn’t sure whether he has ever met with Underly. He also criticized Underly for changes to the evaluation of Wisconsin’s standardized test scores.

He described the recent February primary as “low profile” and said that with a “different electorate” at polls in April, Kinser likely has a chance to win. 

The higher profile spring election is for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The technically nonpartisan race pits Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate against  Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate.

Vos said he thinks that the race will be about the candidates, but it is “possible” that the race could be a referendum on Trump. He noted that Democrats are seeking to turn out voters who  agree with them and billionaire Elon Musk and Trump are trying to bring out Republicans in the race. A group tied to Musk canceled a social media ad this week that featured a photo of the wrong Susan Crawford.

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