MADISON, WI – State Representative Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) released the following statement on the announcement of a $1.8 billion “surplus deal” between retiring leaders Speaker Vos, Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu, and Governor Evers:
“Wisconsinites have been clear with elected leaders all year that they need serious, structural relief on property taxes and more support for their children’s public school classrooms. That’s why Assembly Democrats united behind my proposal, Assembly Bill 1176, to fix the mistakes made in Republican budgets, reduce property taxes, and pick up the tab without making a massive public expenditure in an uncertain economic climate under the Trump Administration.
Unlike outgoing politicians, working class Wisconsinites have to live with the long-term consequences of today’s decisions. We deserve better than an election-year deal negotiated behind closed doors. Speaker Robin Vos, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, and Governor Tony Evers are all retiring from Wisconsin politics, yet they are proposing extreme fiscal decisions that will shape our state long after they are gone.
On education, this deal falls woefully short of what Wisconsin kids and communities need. It would only invest about $600 million, which is less than half of what Assembly Democrats proposed for general and special education. This proposal also increases spending on privately operated schools, and leaves so little in the state’s reserves that all public services – including public education – would still be on the chopping block in the near future.
This proposal offers one-time ‘rebates’ in place of long-term investments to people’s real-life pain. It would drain Wisconsin’s resources at a time of immense instability.
Meanwhile, AB 1176, our legislation to provide $455 million in general school aid, and $845 million to bring special education reimbursement to 60% – continues to sit on the shelf, even though it’s the only proposal providing structural property tax relief and sustainable public school funding..
AB 1176 would directly address the root cause of rising property taxes by increasing state support for public schools and reducing the pressure on local taxpayers. Instead of relying on temporary rebate checks and one-time political compromises, our proposal stakes out a responsible long-term funding model that lowers property taxes while supporting neighborhood public schools.
Communities across Wisconsin have made it clear that they are tired of watching teachers cut, referendums increase, and property taxes rise year after year. They want serious solutions.
If Republican leaders and Governor Evers are serious about helping our residents and lowering property taxes, they should immediately allow AB 1176 through the legislative process. Monday’s announcement instead cements Republican leaders’ and Governor Evers’s legacies as retiring politicians who have shut the public and most legislators out of their swan song, risking the state’s resources when public services are already under attack in the Trump economy.
AB 1176 is the only proposal which would increase state investment in preK-12 public education, reduce local property taxes, provide sustainable relief for Wisconsin homeowners and renters, and save money in the state coffers all at once. It is fiscally responsible, and it responds directly to the realities in our neighborhoods. It was my line in the sand, and it should have been the Governor’s, too.”
