It's Time To Get To Work,' Doyle Says

Governor Doyle addresses students, teachers and media during a news conference in the library of General Mitchell Elementary School in West Allis.

Governor Doyle said Wednesday (February 23, 2005) his impending veto of the Republicans' property tax "gimmick" is "the first step toward getting a responsible property tax freeze for Wisconsin taxpayers."

At a news conference at General Mitchell Elementary School in West Allis, Doyle said the only reason he has not yet vetoed the bill is that Republican legislative leaders are playing political games by not immediately sending it to him.

The Republicans' intent in approving their property tax gimmick was never "to get something done," Doyle said. "It's all about political posturing."

The Assembly passed the Republican property tax plan - AB 58 - last Thursday, and the Senate followed suit Tuesday. The plan holds the schools' portion of the property tax levy at 2004 levels and makes no mention of how much money the state will provide to schools. Doyle said, as it stands now, it would cut education funding by $716 million.

Governor Doyle, on the other hand, has proposed a comprehensive property tax freeze plan in his 2005-07 state budget plan that includes an additional $850 million in school funding to restore the state's commitment to two-thirds funding of schools.

A student at General Mitchell Elementary School in West Allis takes a photo of her teacher, Michelle Knaflic, and Governor Doyle.

"In my budget address, I said that this was a moment of truth for the Legislature, and made it clear that I would veto any freeze that cut education, police and firefighters," Doyle said.

"Republicans sent me a freeze yesterday that they know I'll veto. It is time for Republicans to end the grandstanding, and get to work on my budget. I'm confident that if they are willing to put the interests of property taxpayers before politics, we'll be able to enact a property tax freeze that protects taxpayers and our schools."

Doyle said he hopes Republicans will now work on sending him a reasonable state budget bill that he can sign.

"I am not going to sign a budget that guts public education in the state of Wisconsin, nor do I think the people of the state want me to sign a budget that guts education," he said.

Doyle's visit to West Allis was part of a statewide tour of schools. At General Mitchell School, he visited the 4th-grade classroom of Michelle Knaflic, where he answered students' questions such as, "Is it fun to be governor?" and "How did you become governor?"

Since he unveiled his budget plan earlier this month, he also has visited Tank Elementary School in Green Bay, Lincoln Elementary in Madison, Locust Lane Elementary in Eau Claire, Park View Elementary in Cudahy, S.C. Johnson Elementary in Racine, the Early Learning Center in Sheboygan, Dean Elementary in Brown Deer, Summit Elementary in La Crosse, Sam Davey Elementary in Eau Claire, Heritage Elementary in De Pere, and South Mountain Elementary in Wausau. At many of the schools, he visited classes that benefit from the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) class-size reduction program, a program that is strongly supported in his budget plan.

Doyle used the opportunity of the school visits to discuss details of his budget plan and compare it to the Republican plan. Doyle said his plan (AB 100):

• Retains the existing revenue caps on schools but meets the state’s commitment to pay two-thirds of the cost of a child’s education – an investment of $850 million in education and property tax relief.
• Fully funds shared revenue for local governments to protect vital services like police and firefighters.
• Sets strict limits on how much local governments can raise their tax levies.
• Provides $100 million in incentives for local government that hold their levies even lower than what the governor’s freeze allows.

He said the Republican property tax plan:

• Doesn’t guarantee any new funding for education.
• Could reduce the overall amount spent on Wisconsin public schools by up to $716 million over the next two years, by reducing per-pupil revenue caps.
• Limits local tax levies without accounting for inflation, eroding the quality of local services.
• Doesn’t guarantee any funding for shared revenue – offering no protection for vital local services.
• Does not offer incentives for local governments that hold taxes even lower.

"As the budget process moves forward in the coming months," Doyle said, "we'll have a historic opportunity to work together to pass something meaningful - a real and responsible freeze that not only protects taxpayers but also protects the quality of our schools and services."

Resource page on 2005-07 state budget
Resource page on tax gimmicks

Posted February 24, 2005