« LFB Summary of Governor Evers Executive Budget Now Available | Home | LFB Memo on Evers’ Major School Finance Proposals »
LFB Estimate Finds Wisconsin Governments, Educational Institutions in Line for $8.7 Billion from Latest Stimulus Bill
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 25, 2021
From WisPolitics.com …
Wisconsin’s state and local governments, along with its educational institutions, could receive $8.7 billion from the latest federal COVID-19 stimulus bill, according to an estimate from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
A new LFB memo summarized the package’s wide-ranging impact on programs from child abuse prevention grants to aid for the humanities. But it didn’t include a summary of the overall pot of money the state could receive.
LFB put together the $8.7 billion total at the request of WisPolitics.com, though Director Bob Lang stressed it was an estimate and comes with some caveats. For example, the state is in line for $188.7 million from a capital projects fund. But it would first have to apply for the money through a process the U.S. Department of Treasury has nearly two months to set up.
The estimate doesn’t include the stimulus checks that residents received as part of the latest package, nor the $1 billion sweetener the package includes for states like Wisconsin if they expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has already ruled out the move.
The biggest pots of money include: $3.2 billion for the state; $2.3 billion for counties and municipalities; $1.5 billion for public K-12 schools; and $560 million for Wisconsin colleges and universities.
Some of the highlights include:
*Previous estimates had detailed the $2.3 billion that Wisconsin municipalities and counties will receive. That includes $405.7 million for the city of Milwaukee and $183.4 million for the county. The LFB memo notes the COVID bill includes language stating aid states receive directly can’t be used to reduce taxes. But there are no similar restrictions on the money that locals will receive.
The memo includes a breakdown on the aid hundreds of Wisconsin villages, towns and cities will receive.
*The Department of Public Instruction will have to submit to the Joint Finance Committee a plan for the influx of federal aid for K-12 schools. Still, the bulk of that money will be divided up using a federal formula based on poverty, and JFC won’t be able to change that. A similar approach was used for the last round of federal COVID aid, and Milwaukee Public Schools was the biggest recipient of that money.
Of the $686.1 million included in the December package President Trump signed, $617.5 million was distributed to districts and independent charter schools based on the formula that accounts for the number of low-income students in each district.
Milwaukee was to receive $225.2 million of the pot of $686.1 million with JFC using $65 million of the federal funds to reward districts that offer in-person instruction.
*Private K-12 schools are in line for an estimated $67.1 million.
*The American Council on Education has done an estimate on how the $560 million would be divided up among Wisconsin colleges and universities. That includes $275 million for UW System institutions; $170 million for Wisconsin Technical Colleges; and $115 million for private, nonprofit colleges.
That money can be used to defray costs associated with the virus, including lost revenue and technology costs for going to distance learning. Almost half of the money has to go to financial aid grants to students.
Other than a small share of the money, at least half of it has to go to financial aid grants to students.
*The $188.7 million the state could receive from the capital fund is meant to cover projects that “directly enable work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Under the bill, the Treasury Department has to set up a process for states to apply for the money, which would have to be used by Dec. 31, 2024.
The LFB memo notes state law requires capital projects with a cost of more than $1 million to be enumerated by the Legislature, regardless of the funding source. Also, no agency can enter into a contract exceeding $300,000 for a project without approval from the State Building Commission.
See the LFB memo here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Comments are closed.