MADISON—Today, Gov. Tony Evers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jill Underly announced their shared K-12 education priorities for the 2023-25 state biennial budget. Their plan increases funding for public schools by nearly $2 billion. This announcement comes as the new school year begins and the state is projected to have a $5 billion revenue surplus.
Gov. Evers’ and Superintendent Underly’s shared education priorities for the next state budget include the following:
· Increasing funding for special education
· Improving reading outcomes
· Investing in financial literacy
· Increasing per-pupil aid
· Providing funding for financial literacy initiative
· Expanding out-of-school programming
· Improving access to nutritious school meals
· Supporting students’ mental health
· Addressing staff shortages to keep classroom sizes small
Rep. Sondy Pope (D-Mt. Horeb) released the following statement following the announcement:
“I wholeheartedly support the K-12 education priorities for the 2023-25 biennial budget outlined by Governor Evers and Superintendent Underly today. Their joint plan will tremendously benefit our students and public schools without communities having to raise their own property taxes. I cannot think of a better way to kick off the new school year than with an updated plan for how to better support students, educators, and administrators over the next biennium. We must not continue asking these individuals to do more with less. If approved by the Legislature, the investments proposed today will have substantial and lasting positive impacts on our kids and schools. When public education is robustly funded, we are all better off. I applaud Governor Evers and Superintendent Underly for being champions of our kids and public schools, and I encourage citizens to call on lawmakers to support these investments.”
A more detailed breakdown of the investments in K-12 public education that have been proposed by Gov. Evers and Superintendent Underly can be found in the press release linked here.
