Democrats raise concerns over number of referendums on the ballot as Republicans defend education spending
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) – On Monday, Sept. 14, Democrats took aim at Republicans over school funding. They claim legislative Republicans have ignored their responsibility to Wisconsin students and have passed the buck to local communities, forcing working families to decide between underfunded schools and higher property taxes.
“Republicans have diverted public dollars into private voucher programs while cutting public education funding from Governor Evers' budgets, knowing their actions will lead to more increases in property taxes and referendums,” Senator Dianne Hesselbein, the minority leader, said.
During their remarks to the press, they highlighted how many schools are asking for a referendum. They say there 78 school districts turning to a referendum that will be on the ballot this fall, equaling around 150 in total this year. Sheila Hibner, a former public school teacher and school board president says a lack of funding equates to loss in curriculum.
“Prep classes, athletics, the school musical, CNA trainings, internships, these are the highly sought after opportunities in schools and the very things that are at stake in our school districts,” Hibner said.
Democrats called out the chair of the finance committee, Senator Howard Marklein, saying he is the reason schools aren’t being properly funded. He sent back the following statement and document, saying that isn’t true:
"The claim that funding is being cut from K-12 education is categorically false. Every year since I have been Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee, we have made significant investments in public K-12 education. Since 2011-2012, state spending on public K-12 education has outpaced inflation by hundreds of millions of dollars and continues to be the largest expenditure in our state budget. My opponent has routinely voted against these increases by repeatedly voting no on our state budgets.
Thanks to the most recent state budget, negotiated with Democrats like Sen. Hesselbein and signed by Governor Evers, state spending on public education is at its highest level ever. I was proud to lead the effort to craft a budget that provided $550 million more for special education. This funding is now guaranteed each year in the future. My opponent had the opportunity to support these increases and she voted no.
We had a chance to do even more for our schools and property taxpayers in May through another bipartisan agreement with the Governor, but politics got in the way and every Senate Democrat voted against the proposal.
I continue to meet with my local school district administrators to discuss what they are seeing in their communities. I understand the challenges that our local school districts are facing. I promise to continue to advocate for our local school districts in Madison and work to find a sustainable solution to this issue going forward.
Talk is cheap. Democrats and my opponent can say what they want about funding our schools, but when push comes to shove, I was the one advocating for and supporting increases while she voted no."
Senator Marklein also included the document below, which break down the investments into education that the Legislature has made since 2011.
Senator Hesselbein says they are looking for different ways to better fund public education in the state. They are looking for a long-term plan. She said they are going to be looking at how states like Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota fund schools, and potentially craft policy like those states.
She added they have a goal of fully funding special education, but that it’s hard to know how the budget is going to shake out with the uncertainty at the state federal level. The specifics on how Democrats will fund schools were sparce, but Hesselbein shares that Democrats are caucusing later this week to strategize.