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State Budget Contains Positive Education Measures

The $37 billion state budget taking shape in the Legislature is generally positive for public education, according to WEAC President Terry Craney.

The Assembly has passed and sent to the Senate a budget bill negotiated by bi-partisan teams.

“WEAC applauds the bi-partisan nature of the Assembly budget action,” Craney said. “Speaker Ben Brancel, Minority Leader Walter Kunicki, Education Committee Chair Luther Olson, Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Mark Meyer and Steven Nass were instrumental in negotiating and developing the package.”

Key education issues in the Assembly version included:

  • Full funding for the current SAGE program, which lowers class size in the primary grades, and expansion to grades 2 and 3.
  • Some relief from revenue controls for declining enrollment districts and those affected by the transfer of service issue.
  • Removal of a five-year privatization/sub-contracting plan in Milwaukee.
  • Major investments in school technology through the TEACH program.

WEAC is asking members in key legislative districts to contact their senators and representatives and urge them to support decreasing class size in K-3 and oppose making the school calendar a permissive subject of bargaining. As of September 19, the Senate had not taken floor action on the measure.

At that time, three Senate Democrats had proposed a bi-partisan plan that includes:

  • An additional $3.8 million for the SAGE program.
  • A 5% increase in the pre-school to grade 5 (P-5) program.
  • Inflationary adjustments to the revenue controls.
  • Modifying revenue limits for summer school pupil enrollment.
  • Improvements in the charter school law.
  • A minor modification to the QEO law to apply savings on fringe benefits to salaries.
  • Deleting establishing the school calendar as a permissive subject of bargaining.

“This package contains numerous pro-education provisions,” Craney said. “We hope they will be included in the final budget.”

“It’s a positive first step,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala. Senate Minority Leader Mike Ellis said he liked the plan and would present it to his 15 fellow Republicans.

Posted September 19, 1997

 

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