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JFC to Work Off Walker’s Budget Bill; Policy Items Pulled From Budget

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 7, 2017

From WisPolitics.com …

Joint Finance will work off the guv’s budget as it begins making changes except for the Department of Transportation, where the committee will use current law as its starting point, according to a memo distributed today.

The decision ends weeks of speculation over whether the committee would ignore Gov. Scott Walker’s proposals on items like K-12 education and moving to a self-insurance model for state employees and instead use the base budget as its starting point.

It also, observers say, bolsters the likelihood that Walker’s proposal to pump $649 million in additional state aid into K-12 schools will largely survive after the committee finishes its work on the budget. Those who favored starting from the base budget argued it would give lawmakers the ability to stress, for example, how much they put into public schools in new aid vs. current law rather than the focus being on how much less they approved compared to Walker’s plan, if the committee chose to reduce the increase.

Walker focused on the implications for his K-12 proposal in a statement.

“As I have traveled to every county for listening sessions and visited schools districts throughout Wisconsin, one message is clear — we need to take our Reform Dividend and invest it in K-12 education,” Walker said. “That is what my budget does, and by keeping my proposal today, the Legislature recognizes the need to make public education a top priority.”

Meanwhile, the decision also means the committee, controlled 12-4 by Republicans, will need nine votes to change Walker’s proposals other than in Transportation.

There, the committee would need nine votes to adopt Walker’s plan, which calls for focusing largely on local road maintenance and eschewing investing in new, major highway projects. That has been one of the biggest areas of disagreement between Walker and legislative Republicans, particularly in Assembly leadership.

JFC Co-chair Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said Transportation remains the most contentious piece of the guv’s proposal and starting from the base gives the committee more options. She said some lawmakers continue to look at user fees to boost the fund’s resources, though a gas tax hike remained a tough sell and at this point her caucus would not support an increase.

“We want everything on the table, and we feel that by using the base it gives us more room” to make changes, Darling said.

JFC member Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, questioned where Republicans could find money to bolster transportation.

“Are we going to be doing this budget on the backs of our children by not providing the increase that the schools wanted and needed?” she said.

JFC Co-chair John Nygren, R-Marinette, said GOP lawmakers recognize K-12 spending is a priority for the guv. Still, he said the overall education package could be tweaked before the budget is sent back to Walker. For example, he said some have questioned if all schools should get the per-pupil increases Walker proposed through categorical aids. Some, Nygren said, would like to look at directing more of that money toward low-spending districts to help them catch up with others rather than spreading it equally across the state.

“Could it end up looking a little bit different than he proposed? I think it could, and we made that statement to them,” Nygren said of his conversations with the Walker administration.

The committee also is pulling 83 policy items Walker proposed, including proposals to eliminate the minimum number of instruction hours provided by public schools and requiring UW graduates to have an internship or work experience.

The committee also is pulling out Walker’s calls to repeal the prevailing wage for state projects and banning project labor agreements. A standalone PLA bill has already cleared both houses of the Legislature and is awaiting Walker’s signature.

Nygren said the prevailing wage proposal was pulled because it was policy and because the committee is starting from base on transportation. He did not see a problem with the proposal in general and said it would pass as a separate bill or be included in an overall transportation package before the budget is finished.

Other policy proposals being pulled include:

*Walker’s call to centralize printing and mail services under DOA, allowing local governments to publish some documents online rather than in the paper of record. Newspapers and open government advocates had raised concerns about the proposal. There’s also a separate bill on the publishing requirements now before the Legislature.

*Requiring the DATCP and the DNR to study the possibility of transferring the regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations from the DNR to DATCP.

*Requiring the Legislature to submit a plan ahead of every two-year budget to keep its spending flat and to reduce it by 5 percent. The Legislature included a similar provision in the 2015-17 budget imposing such a requirement on state agencies.

*Deleting the requirement schools boards meet at least once a month and have an annual meeting each July.

*Permitting UW System students to decline paying the portion of segregated fees that support campus groups.

*Requiring UW schools to lay out how to complete a bachelor’s degree in each major within three years.

*Requiring UW schools to monitor teaching workloads for faculty and report those hours publicly.

*Adding language to state statutes on the importance of academic freedom on UW campuses.

Read the memo here.

Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »

More Start Date Resolutions

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 6, 2017

Check out the school board resolutions below in support of school start date repeal.

Please forward your letters and resolutions to the SAA.

Amery Resolution

Granton Resolution

Mt. Horeb Letter

Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »

Notes from JFC Hearing

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 6, 2017

Yesterday, the Joint Finance Committee held it’s second of six public hearings on the 2017-19 state budget bill in West Allis.  The SAA was well-represented with the following school superintendents providing testimony:  Blake Peuse (St. Francis), Pat DeKlotz (Kettle Moraine), Bryan Davis (Shorewood), Deb Kerr (Brown Deer),  and Darienne Driver (Milwaukee Public Schools).  The following business managers also provided testimony: John Stellmacher (Hartford Joint 1), Jonathan Mitchell (St. Francis) and Blaise Paul (South Milwaukee).  Other members of the Brown Deer leadership team joined Superintendent Kerr in testimony as well.  Many thanks to these SAA members for their leadership.

Blake Peuse and Jonathan Mitchell Testimony 040517

Brown Deer Team Testimony 040517

Bryan Davis and Paru Shah Testimony 040517

Darienne Driver Testimony 040517

John Stellmacher Testimony 040517

For those of you planning to testify at one of the remaining hearings, here are my suggestions:

Get there early.  I know the hearings don’t start until 10:00 a.m., but if you wish to speak before 1:00 p.m. get there by 7:30 a.m.

We need a strong showing at the remaining JFC budget hearings.  If you have questions about testifying please call me.

Here are the upcoming hearing locations and times:

• 10 am – 5 pm: Friday, April 7, Berlin High School Auditorium, Berlin.
• 10 am – 6 pm: Tuesday, April 18, Spooner High School Auditorium, Spooner.
• 10 am – 5 pm: Wednesday, April 19, Ellsworth High School Gymnasium, Ellsworth
• 10 am – 5 pm: Friday, April 21, Marinette High School Auditorium, Marinette

See also news coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Of particular interest see “School Funding Debate” discussion.

Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »

Referendum Results

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 5, 2017

From The Wheeler Report:

• 18 non-recurring, ($227,844,405)
• 6 recurring ($7,204,747)
• 16 Issue Debt ($464,665,00)

• 6 non-recurring, ($34,072,000)
• 6 recurring, ($10,274,836)
• 13 Issue debt. ($220,705,000)

Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »

Evers Re-Elected

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 5, 2017

From WisPolitics.com …

State Superintendent Tony Evers chalked up his easy win over challenger Lowell Holtz to his role as “the chief advocate” of public school kids.

Evers also struck an optimistic tone last night about the future of the state, telling reporters and a crowd of some 50 supporters in downtown Madison, including Dem legislative leaders Rep. Peter Barca and Sen. Jennifer Shilling, that despite the problems Wisconsin faces, “we can roll up our sleeves and solve them.”

Still, he addressed issues the state needs to solve to enhance the education environment for public school students, including better addressing mental health issues and allocating more money to districts. But he conceded the state’s in a good starting place with Gov. Scott Walker’s biennial budget plan.

He mentioned Holtz, former superintendent of Whitnall School District, only once and not by name, calling him instead “my opponent.” Evers said Holtz’s “view of the world is a lot different than mine,” adding “my view won.”

In an interview with WisPolitics.com, Evers attributed the lack of big outside money flowing in to support Holtz’s campaign to the quality of Evers’ own campaign.

“I think it’s because we had a good campaign and people didn’t want to invest in my opponent,” he said.

But Evers added he thinks people respect that he takes “difficult positions, even though they may not be popular,” he said, citing his stance on whether transgender kids should use the bathroom they identify with and guns in schools.

Evers was on pace to easily top his margins of victory for his first two terms.

With almost all precincts in, Evers had 494,845 votes, or 70 percent, while Holtz had 212,529, or 30 percent.

In 2013, Evers beat then-GOP Rep. Don Pridemore with 61.1 percent of the vote.

In 2009, Evers won his first term over school choice advocate Rose Fernandez with 57.1 percent.

The just more than 700,000 people who voted in the state superintendent race is a little under 16 percent of the state’s voting age population.

Heading into Tuesday, the Elections Commission projected turnout could be between 13 and 18 percent, based on past spring elections where there was a contested DPI race, but a Supreme Court justice running unopposed.

Holtz said he raised important issues in his bid for state superintendent even though he came up well short of knocking off Evers.

Holtz said he was at a resource disadvantage compared to Evers, who outraised him better than 2-to-1. Between Jan. 1 and March 20, Holtz pulled in $117,190, while Evers collected just north of $360,000.

Evers also benefited from a $225,000 TV ad buy from the liberal Greater Wisconsin Committee.

“There’s only so much you can do shaking hands,” Holtz said on a conference call.

Holtz said he wished Evers well and hoped others would step up to help the superintendent address issues, such as the achievement gap between white and minority students.

“I’m really hoping that while I might not have been in the position where I wanted to be, I really hope that we raised issues and awareness that parents don’t ever have to put up with failing schools, businesses shouldn’t put up with failing schools and our communities shouldn’t put up with them,” Holtz said.

See also Wisconsin State Journal article by Molly Beck.

Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »

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