Republicans pass $1B boost in school spending, meeting a Tony Evers demand in deal to fund local governments

MADISON - Republican lawmakers writing the next state budget approved a plan to provide Wisconsin schools with about $1 billion in additional revenue through a mix of new funding and property tax increases — meeting one of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' demands in state leaders' negotiations on a bill to boost funding for local governments.

Lawmakers agreed to include in the state budget an additional $778.5 million in state funding and allowing school districts to raise the rest through property tax increases. Included in the plan passed late Tuesday was $534.3 million more in general school aids and an increase of $650 per student in state-imposed limits on how much revenue schools are allowed to raise over the two years of the state budget.

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The percentage of special education costs covered by the state also would increase to 33.3% from 30% under current law.

"This is a lot of money invested in the future of Wisconsin," committee co-chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said late Tuesday just before the Joint Committee on Finance approved the K-12 plan, which he characterized as "the grand bargain" with Evers.

Lawmakers on the Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance approved the plan for K-12 schools along party lines, with Democrats blasting Republicans for not providing more for schools given their past budget action for schools.

"You're still a billion short even with this," Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said. "You've dug a huge hole."

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Evers, a former state superintendent and public school educator, and GOP legislative leaders negotiated over the terms of the K-12 portion of the budget in order to reach a deal on a separate piece of legislation set to be on the floor of the state Assembly and Senate on Wednesday that would increase funding for local governments and keep Milwaukee from plunging into a fiscal crisis.

In the last state budget, Republican lawmakers voted to provide schools with an additional $128 million in state taxpayer funding — less than 10% of what Evers had proposed for the 2021-23 state spending plan. GOP lawmakers also in 2021 increased the percentage of special education costs the state reimburses to 30% — up from 28.2%. Evers proposed increasing the reimbursement rate to 50% in 2021 and to 60% in 2023.

Lawmakers' action late Tuesday will be included in the final two-year spending plan sent to Evers later this summer.

Among the measures passed Tuesday are:

• $30 million increase over two years for grants to provide school-based mental health services.

• $630,200 in additional funding for rural schools

• The creation of a new $500,000 annual grant program for high schools designed to help students recovering from the effects of substance abuse.

• $750,000 for Lakeland STAR Academy in Minocqua, a public charter school for students with disabilities. Evers vetoed an identical measure in the last state budget because "state funding decisions should not pick winners and losers."

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Republican lawmakers pass $1B boost in school spending