MADISON — State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly today reiterated the importance of funding public schools in the following statement. Her message comes in response to a challenge to the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s public school funding formula being filed today in circuit court by a group of school districts and Wisconsinites.
“Public education is central to Wisconsin’s identity and future. Our state’s founders recognized its importance by enshrining in the Wisconsin Constitution a shared state and local responsibility to provide a system of education ‘as nearly uniform as practicable.’ Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves that promise to be kept.
“Our current funding formula is not working. Some districts thrive, while others struggle to meet basic needs. Opportunity should not depend on geography, but too often it does.
“This is not a partisan issue. Leaders across the political spectrum, from the School Finance Network to the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding, have studied the issue and put forward practical, common-sense solutions. Supporting public education is bipartisan. Fixing how we fund it should be, too.”
An official photo of Dr. Underly is available on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s website.
