CONTACT: Rep. Considine
(608) 266-7746
Madison – Today, the State Assembly is debating the 2017-2019 state budget. Rep. Dave Considine (D-Baraboo) responded with his thoughts on the bill that will be before the Assembly today:
“This budget is rigged to give private voucher schools and our wealthier citizens a leg up while leaving the rest of our communities behind,” said Rep. Considine. “I’m especially concerned that we will be letting private schools take advantage of the work of public school special educators, making them write IEPs for special needs students that might not even be followed. This pits our public and private school systems against each other, which isn’t fair to anyone. My Republican colleagues talk about increasing funding for public schools, but what they’re really doing is funding private schools by taking money directly out of our public school budgets.”
Assembly Bill (AB) 64 was passed by the Joint Finance Committee last week. Democrats on the committee introduced a number of amendments, all of which were rejected by Republicans on party lines.
“This is a budget of missed opportunities,” Rep. Considine added. “Beyond supporting our public schools, we need to implement serious changes to our Department of Corrections, strengthen mental health services, increase opportunities in agriculture and tourism, and return control to our local communities. Republicans have had six years to get it right, but their choices have caused us to miss major opportunities to serve the citizens of Wisconsin.”
