The WASB thanks the governor, legislature, and all parties involved in the process for working together and making difficult decisions to ensure some level of increases was put forward and a budget was ultimately passed. The increases in special education reimbursement are a massive step forward – the highest rate schools have seen in 30 years, and a larger increase for special education than the last three state budgets combined.
Those who advocated during this budget cycle can be proud of the work and efforts undertaken to get this far. With cuts to federal K-12 funding of up to 11% possible, and numerous agencies and sectors of the economy needing support, we recognize as education advocates that there were many other worthy and competing interests for state dollars.
That said, there are numerous other issues left unaddressed in this budget that will be challenging for school leaders to manage. We look forward to continue working with the governor and everyone in the legislature to build a more robust school funding system that works for all of Wisconsin’s students and school districts.
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards is a nonprofit association that provides information and services to Wisconsin school boards in the areas of school law and policymaking, legislation and leadership development.
