Tensions surrounding education policy heightened between Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Tony Evers on Monday as they both released their upcoming state budget proposals.
As the state superintendent, Evers called for a $1.7 billion increase in K-12 funding for the 2019-'21 budget plan.
Evers asked for additional resources in order to invest about $600 million toward special education programs and to ensure that the state covers two-thirds of the costs to public schools.
“The budget I’m submitting responds to the very real challenges our schools and educators face each and every day. It changes how we fund our schools and provides resources to our educators to meet the needs of every child,” Evers stated in a press release.
Evers’ proposal requests $15.4 billion in total, a 12.3 percent raise from the previous budget. Data from the Department of Public Instruction shows that the last time the funding for K-12 education in Wisconsin was increased this drastically was in 1995.
“You’re seeing it in referenda results around the state, people voting to raise their own taxes to support their schools,” Tom McCarthy, the Department of Public Instruction communications director, said on Saturday. “That should be a big wake-up for the state to say maybe it’s time for us to not only redesign how we fund our schools but also contribute enough money so local districts don’t have to pick up so much of the dime.”
McCarthy also warns that although Evers’ budget is considered to be property-tax neutral, any change in the budget can have the potential to cause slight fluctuations.
In the most recent 2017-'19 budget, Walker increased school aid to $13.7 billion, $2.2 billion of which was allocated to help balance school funding from property taxes across counties.
Walker’s spokesman, Brian Reisinger, stated that even Evers has referred to Walker in the past as having a "pro-kid budget."
Depending on the outcome of the Nov. 6 election, Evers’ and Walker’s state budget proposals are the first step to outlining their vision for the state.
