Capitol Update
By Dee Pettack | September 18, 2023
Last week Thursday, Senate Republicans voted to override Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ budget move to provide $325 per student in public school funding increases for the next four centuries, though the boost enacted through the governor’s veto pen stays in place for now.
The Joint Finance Committee also had the objection withdrawn regarding including voucher expenditures from the financial dashboard created under 2021 Act 89. Unless a new objection is filed by 5pm today the financial dashboard will continue to move forward as designed by the committee, including the deduction of funds to pay for voucher students.
ESSER II Reminder:
DPI will be sending a reminder this week that ESSER II funds must be spent by September 30, 2023. They are encouraging school district leaders to check on your district’s ESSER II balance. In addition, please remember that the federal government allows for late liquidation, but late liquidation only gives districts an extension to claim on ESSER II funds that were spent before the deadline of September 30, 2023. Any funds that are not spent by September 30, 2023 must be returned to the federal government and may allow elected officials to make the case that school districts are not in need of funding.
Resources for ESSER II, including details about DPI open office hours, can be found at https://dpi.wi.gov/crrsaa/esser-ii.
Wisconsin Policy and Research Forum Event:
The Wisconsin Policy Forum will be hosting a virtual event on September 29th on teacher workforce challenges in Wisconsin. The program will begin with a presentation on their new research on teacher turnover, State Superintendent Jill Underly will also take part in that discussion. Additional panelists will provide expertise commentary on the areas of teacher certification, recruitment, and professional development.
The event is virtual and free to register for at: Wisconsin Policy Forum | Events (wispolicyforum.org)
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Act 20 – Literacy Update
By Dee Pettack | September 8, 2023
The Department of Public Instruction will be posting these resources to its new webpage with information and guidance on Act 20.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
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Capitol Update
By Dee Pettack | September 6, 2023
Office of School Safety Update:
This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the Office of School Safety (OSS) will continue to remain operational through the end of 2024 due to a one time transfer of $1,340,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to support the operations and programs of the office. The original request to permanently fund in the biennial budget was unfilled by the Joint Finance Committee. This commitment in ARPA dollars will extend the operations OSS including the Speak Up, Speak Out 24-hour tipline, critical incident response teams, and threat assessment consultation. The full release from DOJ can be found here.
2023 Speaker’s Task Force Membership Announcement:
Following the announcement of the Speaker’s Task Forces, membership was recently announced. The membership of the Task Forces are listed below:
Speaker’s Task Force on Truancy:
Chair: Rep. Amy Binsfeld (R-Sheboygan)
Vice Chair: Rep. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee)
Members:
Rep. Chanz Green (R – Grandview)
Rep. Scott Krug (R – Nekoosa)
Rep. Paul Melotik (R- Grafton)
Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R – Pleasant Prairie)
Rep. Patrick Snyder (R – Schofield)
Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D – Oregon)
Rep. Kristina Shelton (D – Green Bay)
Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity
Chair: Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Fall Creek)
Vice Chair: Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa)
Members:
Rep. Elijah Behnke (R – Oconto)
Rep. William Penterman (R – Columbus)
Rep. Donna Rozar (R – Marshfield)
Rep. Peter Schmidt (R – Bonduel)
Rep. Alex Joers (D – Middleton)
Rep. Melissa Ratcliff (D – Cottage Grove)
Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking:
Chair: Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac)
Vice Chair: Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire)
Members:
Rep. Ty Bodden (R – Hilbert)
Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R – Oconomowoc)
Rep. Joy Goeben (R – Hobart)
Rep. Rick Gundrum (R – Slinger)
Rep. Scott Johnson (R – Jefferson)
Rep. Jeffrey Mursau (R – Crivitz)
Rep. Jon Plumer (R – Lodi)
Rep. David Steffen (R – Green Bay)
Rep. Paul Tittl (R – Manitowoc)
Rep. Jill Billings (D – LaCrosse)
Rep. Sue Conley (D – Janesville)
Rep. Darrin Madison (D – Milwaukee)
Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D – Madison)
Speaker’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence
Chair: Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Neenah)
Vice Chair: Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska)
Members:
Rep. David Armstrong (R – Rice Lake)
Rep. Calvin Callahan (R – Tomahawk)
Rep. Dave Maxey (R – New Berlin)
Rep. Tom Michalski (R – Elm Grove)
Rep. Adam Neylon (R – Pewaukee)
Rep. Angie Sapik (R – Lake Nebagamon)
Rep. John Spiros (R – Marshfield)
Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R – River Falls)
Rep. Clinton Anderson (D – Beloit)
Rep. Samba Baldeh (D – Madison)
Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D – Kenosha)
Rep. Lori Palmeri (D – Oshkosh)
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Legislative Alert
By Dee Pettack | August 24, 2023
Today, Speaker Vos announced the formation of four bipartisan task forces:
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Truancy in K-12 Education
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence;
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity; and
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking.
According to the release, the members of the task force on truancy in K-12 Education will examine the relationship between truancy and student academic success, evaluate the current practices to hold parents and schools accountable for student attendance and increase awareness and resources, ensure every child has access to quality education and a promising future. Representative Amy Binsfeld (R-Sheboygan), chair, and Representative Dora Drake (D[1]Milwaukee), vice-chair, will lead the task force on truancy. The task forces will meet around the state to obtain input and create recommendations on each issue. The full release can be found here.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently released a report on student absenteeism which can be found here. Additional information will be provided as the task forces begin to plan their meetings around the state.
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Cosponsorship Deadline Today at 5:00pm – Repeal of Act 141 Penalties
By Dee Pettack | August 9, 2023
The deadline for legislators to sign on as cosponsors of LRB-3997/1 is 5:00 p.m. today. This important proposal would eliminate the penalties created in 2017 Act 141 related to a failed referendum. If you can please contact your legislator today and ask them to cosponsor LRB 3997/1 and express the importance of this proposal moving forward quickly due to the fiscal timelines in which districts are required to set their levy.
Find your state legislators here. Please reach out if you have questions.
Background:
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified 28 districts in which the voters rejected an operating referendum during the time period that could affect their eligibility for the low revenue adjustment in the 2023-25 biennium. With the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under 2023 Act 19 and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment amount under 2023 Act 11, though, only 19 districts which have base revenue per pupil of less than $10,675 to start the 2023-24 revenue limit calculation would be impacted. This bill would eliminate this provision. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo further describing this impact can be found here. The 19 districts in that category are marked in Attachment 1 in this Legislative fiscal bureau memo with a double asterisk. Attachment 2 shows the estimated amount of revenue limit authority that would be generated under the low revenue adjustment for those 19 districts in the biennium.
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Capitol Updates
By Dee Pettack | August 4, 2023
2017 Act 141 Repeal
Yesterday, Senator Pat Testin and Representative Chanz Green circulated a proposal for co-sponsorship to repeal the referendum penalties created in 2017 Act 141. Please contact your legislators and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor LRB-3997/1 and express the importance of this proposal moving forward quickly due to the fiscal timelines in which districts are required to set their levy.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified 28 districts in which the voters rejected an operating referendum during the time period that could affect their eligibility for the low revenue adjustment in the 2023-25 biennium. With the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under 2023 Act 19 and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment amount under 2023 Act 11, though, only 19 districts which have base revenue per pupil of less than $10,675 to start the 2023-24 revenue limit calculation would be impacted. This bill would eliminate this provision. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo further describing this impact can be found here. The 19 districts in that category are marked in Attachment 1 in this Legislative fiscal bureau memo with a double asterisk. Attachment 2 shows the estimated amount of revenue limit authority that would be generated under the low revenue adjustment for those 19 districts in the biennium.
Find your state legislators here. Please reach out if you have questions.
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Upcoming Education Hearing & Legislative Fiscal Bureau Budget Summary
By Dee Pettack | July 14, 2023
The Assembly Committee on Education has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, July 20th. Please let me know if you have any comments on the bills listed below – please don’t hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts with me.
The notice for the hearing can be found here.
Assembly Bill 163: Relating to: supplying anti-choking devices in schools.
Assembly Bill 108: Relating to: the definition of “strip search” for the purpose of the prohibition against strip-searching a pupil.
Assembly Bill 293: Relating to: defining critical mapping data for school safety plans.
Assembly Bill 138: Relating to: issuing a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation or a general educational development certificate.
FROM THE WHEELER REPORT: SCHOOL FUNDING EFFECTS OF BUDGET
A new memo was released today by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau titled Estimated Effects of K-12 Funding for School Districts Under Act 11 and 19. The memo begins highlighting “It is not possible to project with certainty which districts would be eligible for the low revenue adjustment amount in the 2023-25 biennium under these provisions because that depends, in part, on future enrollment changes in individual districts, levy decisions of local school boards, and other factors in the revenue limit calculation. Data on revenue per pupil and the three-year enrollment average for 2022-23, however, can be used to provide some indication of which districts might be eligible for the low revenue adjustment amount.”
Act 19 (the budget) provided a per pupil adjustment under revenue limits at $325 in 2023-24 and an additional $325 in 2024-25. Act 11 (the per pupil and school choice changes) increased the low revenue adjustments under revenue limits from $10,000 per pupil in 2022-23 to $11,000 per pupil in 2023-24 and each year after. (Attachment 1 provides a district by district listing of possible changes.)
The memo explains the possible impacts for declining enrollment districts which could be impacted by an interaction between the current law base revenue hold harmless adjustment and the per pupil and low revenue adjustments. There are 28 districts with failed operating referendum which will impact their eligibility for low revenue adjustments in the 2023-25 biennium. However, given the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under the budget, and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment under Act 11, there are only 19 districts with base revenue per pupil of less than $10,665 to start 2023-24.
The memo next addressed the changes to the special education aid. The budget increased special education funding to provide an estimated reimbursement rate of 33.3% of eligible costs, and provides funding in 2023-24 and 2024-25 for the estimated costs. (The estimated changes are in the Attachment.)
Finally, the memo addressed the changes for school-based mental health services grants. The budget provides a one-time increase of $15 million GPR in each year of the biennium for school-based mental health services grants and changes the program to require DPI to distribute the funding on a per pupil basis to all eligible entities. The funding would provide payments of approximately $31 per pupil in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and $12 per pupil in future years. (The estimated changes are in the Attachment.)
The memo only addresses the next budget cycle worth of school funding and does not address the Governor’s veto providing per pupil changes in the future.
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Budget Recap
By Dee Pettack | July 7, 2023
Comprehensive summaries of the biennial budget are still being drafted. Below is a is a quick summary for the 2023-25 budget bill (2023 Act 19).
- Revenue limits: All districts will get +$325 per pupil, and districts that are still below $11,000/pupil after that, and that are not subject to a freeze on their low revenue ceiling (LRC) threshold, will be able to raise their revenue limit to $11,000. *
- Per Pupil Aid for school districts remains at $742/pupil (same as for 2022-23).
- July 1 aid estimates are listed on this SFS page (not per pupil amounts).
- There will be no High Poverty Aid (which will reduce the levy in eligible school districts); the Governor vetoed the statutory language changes (i.e., preserved the High Poverty Aid statutes), but $0 is appropriated for High Poverty Aid under the budget.
- The funding for mental health (school-based services) remains as the JCF motion specified – it will go out on a per pupil basis ($25 M divided by total current year enrollments** in school districts and in Independent Charter Schools). The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated $31/pupil – at this time that is the best estimate we have.
- Special Education Aid – the assumption is a 33.3% reimbursement rate ($97 million) for FY24 and FY25. Estimates will be made available by DPI for payments in the fall, and the final payments and reimbursement rate will be available at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
- Sparsity Aid – the per pupil amount did not change (still $400 or $100 per pupil, depending on district’s membership) – but there is more funding in the appropriation with intention to fully fund aid eligibility. Once the aid run is completed this month by DPI, we will know whether any proration is needed.
- BLBC, High-Cost Spec Ed, and High-Cost Transportation aids – The budget bill provided increases to raise reimbursement rates for these aids. At this time, we don’t have per pupil estimates, they are all based on reimbursement of eligible expenditures and not all districts are eligible for these aids.
- Transportation – The reimbursement rate for the 12+ miles category for Transportation Aid was raised to $400/member.
- The estimated funding for School Library Aids increased by $7 M each year; this aid goes to districts based on total headcount (ages 4-21) living in the district. These estimates will likely not be available until early in the calendar year.
*The Governor’s veto allows school districts to receive $325/pupil each year, continuing after 2024-25 … for 400 years (unless changed by a future Legislature).
**For school districts, the language specifies that DPI is to use the current year revenue limit membership, as defined under s. 115.437 [for Per Pupil Aid) – so it will be the current year’s 3-year rolling average FTE). For ICS, it is the current year enrollment, which people suspect will be the 3rd Friday in September numbers or the school year average w/ January counts (still awaiting confirmation of this).
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Governor Evers Signs 2023-25 Budget
By Dee Pettack | July 6, 2023
Governor Evers signed the $99 billion 2023-25 state budget on July 5, 2023. He utilized his veto pen on 51 provisions included in the plan passed by legislative republicans.
From Wispolitics.com:
Evers called the document Republican lawmakers sent him “incomplete,” but rejected calls to nix the entire two-year plan. He cited the various priorities he achieved in the budget, including increases in funding for education and local governments.
“Vetoing this entire budget would mean abandoning priorities and ideas I’ve spent four years advocating for,” he said ahead of signing. The impact of other vetoes included extending through 2425 an annual increase in the per-pupil spending limit of $325 a year. The budget included increases of $325 in each year of this biennium as part of a deal GOP lawmakers reached with the Governor on state aid to local governments, as well as increasing the size of state-funded vouchers for private schools. The governor’s action, though, seeks to extend that annual increase by four centuries. Future legislatures, though, can change that number.
Read the veto message here.
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Legislature Votes on 2023-25 State Budget
By Dee Pettack | June 29, 2023
From WisPolitics.com …
The $98.7 billion budget cleared the GOP-run Senate last night 20-13.
GOP state Sens. Rob Hutton, of Brookfield, and Steve Nass, of Whitewater, were the only members to cross party lines on the vote, opposing the budget.
The Assembly plans to convene today at 1pm and the budget is the only bill on the calendar. They have scheduled eight hours for debate. The floor session can be viewed on wiseye.org.
If the Assembly signs off on the budget without any changes to what the Senate approved, the bill would then go to The Governor for review.
Republicans in the Senate approved one amendment that largely included language meant to guard against Evers being able to use his partial veto authority on the bill. Other amendments that sought to increase funding for schools, eliminate the 2017 Act 141 penalty on low revenue districts, and reverse the elimination of high poverty aid were rejected by the majority party.
In Wisconsin the Governor has one of the most powerful veto powers in the nation, allowing them to strike or reduce appropriations in spending bills by writing in a smaller amount, though they can’t increase spending that the Legislature proposed.
The governor also may strike words, numbers and punctuation, though they can’t strike out individual letters to create new words — once dubbed the “Vanna White veto” — and aren’t allowed to create new sentences by combining parts of two or more sentences in the text — which critics called the “Frankenstein veto.”
Additional updates will be provided as the budget moves forward. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
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