WPF: Amid Crisis, Voters Again Support More Money for Schools
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 30, 2020
The Wisconsin Policy Forum has put out an interesting piece on the voting public’s overwhelming support for school referenda in the 2020 Wisconsin spring election, placing these results within the historical context of both support for school referenda as well as school funding levels.
Check it out here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Agency Budget Cuts and Other State Fiscal Developments
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 29, 2020
From WisPolitics.com …
The Evers administration estimates the state will save $70 million from agency budget cuts ordered to cope with the financial impact of the COVID-19 impact.
Still, that is only a fraction of the $2 billion the administration has already estimated the state will lose in tax revenue over the coming year.
GOP legislative leaders called the action a prudent move in light of the looming shortfall and pushed for additional actions.
Meanwhile, Gov. Tony Evers called the cuts a “first step.” This week’s order from the Department of Administration to implement the 5 percent agency cuts maintains a hiring freeze for non-essential positions that’s been in place since March 20. It also keeps in place restrictions on travel and a suspension of merit raises for state employees.
Asked about furloughing state employees, Evers said the administration “will take a look at everything” as it tries to manage state finances. But he said the administration was focused on the agency cuts first.
“We think it’s one of our ways to get us in a better place financially,” Evers told reporters today on a conference call.
DOA Secretary Joel Brennan tells WisPolitics.com the GPR lapses will only apply to the first year of the budget.
Brennan expected additional steps once the state gets a better idea of its fiscal picture, especially as states await word on whether the federal government will provide additional aid to offset lost revenue.
GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a frequent critic of the Evers administration, praised the cut as a “smart, proactive move.”
The Rochester Republican also suggested another prudent move would be to freeze spending in the second year of the biennium.
In its revenue estimate in January, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau pegged spending in 2019-20 at $18.2 billion. That was expected to climb to $19.1 billion in the second year of the budget.
“As we begin work to manage this impending fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, it’s good to see that we’re already on the same page,” Vos said.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, chided the guv for running to the media and calling it a “power grab” when the Legislature tried to give itself the ability to make cuts such as these.
“I’m glad he’s come around to our way of thinking with a fiscally responsible move for once,” Fitzgerald said.
The offices of Fitzgerald and Vos didn’t respond today to questions from WisPolitics.com on whether the Legislature would take similar steps to reduce its spending. The Legislature’s GPR appropriation for the biennium is $153.9 million with another $4.8 million in program revenue.
DOA Secretary Joel Brennan says it could take some time before the administration gets a true handle on its fiscal picture.
Part of the reason is because Congress is still debating whether to send additional aid to the states to replace lost revenue.
The state’s solid starting point for the current budget also could help soften the initial fiscal blow.
LFB Director Bob Lang prepared a memo for JFC Co-chair Alberta Darling, R-River Falls, last week laying out the trigger for a budget repair bill.
Under state law, the DOA secretary must notify the guv and Legislature if previously authorized expenditures exceed revenues by 0.5 percent in either year of the biennium. For 2019-20, that’d be about $90 million.
But the state had such a healthy projected balance in the first year of the budget, that revenues would have to drop by more than $1.4 billion before expenditures exceed revenue by $90 million, according to the memo.
That cushion could also mean the state wouldn’t need to dip into the $655 million rainy day fund to make it through the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
Lang said he is holding off doing a new revenue estimate until the state sees additional tax collection information. That task has been complicated by the delay until July 15 for state and federal taxes to be filed.
See the memo to Darling here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Unemployment Compensation and Continuation of Coverage for School Districts
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 29, 2020
From the Legal Side…
In its most recent Legal Update, the von Briesen & Roper Law Firm presents an FAQ on questions districts may have on cutting costs while retaining quality employees, particularly as it relates to Unemployment Compensation benefits and continuation of health care and retirement benefits.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of the von Briesen & Roper Law Firm. The information in this update is no substitute for consulting with your district legal counsel, and we encourage you to do so.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update, SAA Legal Side | No Comments »
WIAA Cancels Spring Sports Season but Extends Opportunities Into Summer
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 29, 2020
From the Legal Side…
In its most recent Legal Update, the Strang Patteson Law Firm focuses on the WIAA’s cancellation of the 2020 spring sports regular season and tournament competitions. This update also includes a review of the WIAA’s outlined methods by which coaches can still virtually connect with their players and extend the opportunities for spring sports to resume, in a limited fashion, during summer.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of the Strang Patteson Law Firm. The information in this update is no substitute for consulting with your district legal counsel, and we encourage you to do so.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update, SAA Legal Side | No Comments »
Evers Cutting Agency Budgets to Deal With Revenue Shortfall
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 29, 2020
From WisPolitics.com …
The Evers administration is immediately cutting executive branch agency budgets 5 percent in the current fiscal year to help deal with the looming state revenue loss due to COVID-19, according to an email DOA Secretary Joel Brennan sent to employees.
Brennan wrote last night that cuts to general purpose revenue appropriations in 2019-20 will provide an “additional cushion until the revenue picture for the biennium becomes clearer.”
In January, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau projected the state would finish 2019-20 with nearly $1.1 billion in the general fund on its way to completing the biennium with a surplus of $620.2 million.
But in mid-April, the Evers administration projected state revenues would drop by some $2 billion in the coming year, due to the pandemic. That estimate, in a letter to the Trump administration, didn’t include additional detail of how that lost revenue would impact each year of the 2019-21 budget.
Last week, the office of Joint Finance Co-chair John Nygren, R-Marinette, shared with WisPolitics.com its projection the state would receive about $3.5 billion from the federal government to deal with COVID-19. The projection includes money to help cover expenses ranging from health care costs to transit.
But that money comes with restrictions on how it can be used. Brennan referenced coming federal aid in the email, saying it can’t offset lost revenue.
Brennan wrote the administration would also continue steps that were implemented in recent weeks, including measures to:
*restrict state-sponsored out-of-state travel unless deemed to be essential for the COVID-19 response.
*freeze hiring except for positions deemed essential for continuing business functions.
*suspend raises, bonuses and other additional compensation for state employees through the Discretionary Merit Compensation Program and the Discretionary Equity and Retention Award Program for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The guv’s office didn’t immediately respond to a text message early this morning seeking additional comment.
In the email, Brennan wrote people are hurting, calling these “challenging days.”
“We do not take these or any other steps lightly and will do everything we can to limit ongoing impact on all the state employees who continue to provide great service, but we also know that waiting any longer to institute cost savings could have an even greater impact on our state’s workforce in the months to come,” Brennan wrote.
Read the email here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »