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Budget and Legislative Update
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | June 1, 2023
Today the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will meet in executive session to act on the following areas of the budget:
- Public Service Commission
- Tourism
- Appropriation Obligation Bonds
- Building Commission
- Building Program
The committee will meet next week on the following areas of the budget on Thursday:
Thursday June 8, 2023
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Justice
- Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Department of Administration
While K-12 funding is not yet scheduled for an executive session it is important that we continue to communicate with legislators the need for general, flexible, spendable revenue, a significant increase in special education aid to provide resources that benefit all students and an meaningful investment in mental health supports to meet the needs in our school communities.
Federal Debt Limit Legislation
The Department of Public Instruction provided a short update around the federal debt limit legislation with the following caveats: the bill itself is not yet signed into law, and they have not yet received it but are expecting final guidance soon. DPI’s read of the debt limit bill as it stands today is that the language only impacts funds that have not already been obligated from the federal government to states. All our COVID relief money, most notably ESSER III, is considered obligated, regardless of a district’s status with their individual authorized amounts.
The Council on Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) recently provided states with the following language, which mimics DPI’s read of the bill. “A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson confirmed this in a recent news article, noting in Politico that “all COVID relief money for K-12 public schools has been obligated” at the federal level such that the rescission language in the bill does not apply. Notably, the legislation does not rescind K-12 COVID relief funding previously allocated to states under ESSER, GEER, or EANS.”
SAA will provide additional updates on this legislation when guidance is issued.
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