Governor's Budget Plan Maintains Investment in Great Schools

The budget adjustment proposal unveiled Tuesday (January 22, 2002) by Gov. McCallum keeps Wisconsin’s investment in K-12 public education a priority, according to the president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

“The governor’s budget plan recognizes that every kid in every Wisconsin community deserves a great school,” said WEAC President Stan Johnson. “Even in grim economic times, we cannot ignore the need to provide classrooms that work for children throughout Wisconsin. Cutting education would harm the entire state, because great schools benefit everyone: children, parents, grandparents, businesses, and taxpayers.”

The governor's plan protects K-12 education funding and proposes to address the state's $1.117 billion deficit largely by phasing out $1 billion in shared revenue payments to cities, counties, villages and towns over three years while restricting their ability to raise property taxes. It also calls for borrowing $794 million from the tobacco settlement money and cutting state agency budgets.

The governor's plan now goes to the Legislature, where Republicans are proposing to freeze state spending and reduce the state's overall commitment to fund two-thirds of school operating costs. Johnson said those legislative Republican plans would endanger the high quality of education in Wisconsin public schools.

“Local school boards would be forced to cut programs and staff in Wisconsin’s great schools,” Johnson said. “These shortsighted plans would cause long-term damage to schools, children, and our economy. The long-term growth of Wisconsin’s economy demands this kind of investment in our public schools.”

Johnson called on the Legislature to agree with the governor and prioritize support for public schools and pass a budget as soon as possible.

Governor's press release

Posted January 22, 2002