MADISON – Seventy two school districts across the state went to the ballot box on Tuesday to ask their communities to raise property taxes so they can keep their schools open. The majority of the referendums may have passed, but every district that didn’t pass will see teachers leaving the classroom, and kids suffering as a result of diminished resources.
Wisconsin’s legislative Republicans have written the state budget in 30 of the last 32 years, and the result has been defunding public education, massive diversion of public money to unaccountable voucher schemes, and lower scores on reading and math assessments.
In February, Sen. Kelda Roys, Democratic candidate for governor, published a plan with multiple paths to funding our public schools and lowering property taxes. A plan that could have recommitted Wisconsin to being a destination for parents to raise kids because our public schools were a model for the country. Unfortunately, Republicans adjourned the legislative session without taking action.
Sen. Roys issued the following statement:
“Our children deserve a governor prepared to deliver enough public school funding so that they can thrive, and so that our teachers, support staff, and school administrators focus on educating the next generation.“Across the state, school funding has become a divisive political game as Republican politicians have catered to the ultra-wealthy instead of doing what’s best for our kids. This week, most voters chose to pass school referendums because Wisconsinites value public education. But it’s not fair to kids that their opportunities are limited based on the willingness of local voters to continue raising our own property taxes to fund schools. As families struggle to afford housing, healthcare, and childcare, the state needs to do its part to stop property tax increases.“Money isn’t the only thing our schools need to thrive, but they can’t succeed without adequate funding. I’m ready to deliver lower costs, higher wages, and better schools for Wisconsin families, and to work across the aisle to get it done. At the end of the day, our kids deserve a state government that works for them. They deserve what I got as a child growing up in rural northern Wisconsin and later urban southern Wisconsin — the best public education in the country.”
