Movement on the State Budget
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 1, 2015
From WisPolitics.com …
Legislative leaders announced today an overview of their agreement on transportation funding for the state budget and plans to take up in the state Assembly next week changes to the prevailing wage alongside the spending plan.
But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he still does not have enough votes to pass the full budget in his caucus. He also said he was still working with his members on prevailing wage and a public financing package for the Milwaukee Bucks, which the Senate will take up first.
The Joint Finance Committee will come in tomorrow to take the final votes on the budget with the Assembly expected to take up the bill Tuesday or Wednesday along with the prevailing wage bill. Fitzgerald said he hoped to be in next week as well on the budget if it clears the Assembly, but also made clear he was still working his caucus.
“No, I don’t have the votes right now as I stand here, but I don’t expect to have the votes,” Fitzgerald said.
Under the agreement leadership reached, the Assembly will bring to the floor next week a bill introduced in that chamber to fully repeal the prevailing wage. Assembly Republicans will then offer an amendment to the bill that reflects a package Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, has put together. It would repeal the prevailing wage statutes for local governments and federalize it for state work. State thresholds currently on the books would remain in effect.
The Assembly would then pass both the budget and the prevailing wage bill and send them to the Senate.
Leadership did not offer many details of the final packages the Joint Finance Committee will take up tomorrow at a hearing noticed to start at 10 a.m. But they said the budget will not include the prevailing wage proposal or the Bucks arena.
The transportation package includes $500 million in bonding with another $350 million the committee can issue as the Department of Transportation submits requests for work. That would still be a significant reduction from the $1.3 billion in borrowing Gov. Scott Walker proposed.
Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the reduction would be felt fairly evenly between out-state projects and the Zoo Interchange. Still, work on the core of the Zoo would not be impacted. Rather work on the north leg would be delayed.
Vos also said the package will include a study looking at other revenue sources for transportation, including the possibility of tolling.
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DPI Estimate: More Than Half of All Districts to Receive Less Aid
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 1, 2015
More than half of Wisconsin public school districts will receive less general aid in the 2015?16 school year than they did for the 2014?15 school year according to estimates released today by the Department of Public Instruction. Although the 2015?17 state budget has not been finalized, the most recent version of the biennial budget maintains the same level of general school aid ($4.476 billion) as was appropriated in the 2014?15 fiscal year.
For more information, please see the news release here.
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More Letters to Legislators/Parents and Staff
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | June 25, 2015
Check out these letters from Brandon Robinson, superintendent of the Unity school district and Chris VanderHeyden, superintendent of the Menasha Joint school district.
Unity Letter to Senator Harsdorf
Menasha Joint Letter to Staff and Parents
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Seymour Letter To The JFC
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | June 24, 2015
Here is the letter that Pete Ross, superintendent of the Seymour school district sent to the Joint Finance Committee members.
Great job Pete!
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Holmen School Board Members Speak Out
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | June 22, 2015
Check out this letter to the editor from Holmen School Board members posted yesterday by the La Crosse Tribune. The letter takes issue with a letter from Rep. Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah) that was posted by the paper on June 15th.
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