“Failing to fund general aid for public schools is a deal breaker. Schools will be harmed and local communities are going to pay the price. Property taxes are going to go up. People need to realize this: whatever tax breaks are in this bill won’t matter when your property taxes or your rent go up because we have failed to adequately fund general aid to schools.”
Stroud pointed to stark consequences for her own district:
“The school district of Superior will lose an estimated $1.8 million dollars as a result of this budget. Maple will lose $1.2 million, Ashland will lose over $700,000.
How will that difference be made up? Property taxes. In Superior, property taxes will go up an average of 7 percent. To the people of Superior, after what you already experienced last year, I know that many of you can’t afford that—whether you rent or own your home, you will pay for this increase. And you shouldn’t have to.”
According to Stroud, the decision not to include general aid is not just harmful, it’s cynical:
“Republicans know this. But they also hope that by the time your property tax statement comes around, you’ll forget that they’re the ones responsible. Think about it: the party that says they hate taxes is fine raising the taxes you pay to fund your local public schools because they want you to see the increase, and blame your local school district.”
Stroud also cited language in the budget that dictates how many courses university faculty must teach, calling it an example of extreme legislative overreach.
“This legislature has no business proposing much less voting on, higher-ed policy at this level of detail. That this legislature thinks we should be voting on how many courses a faculty member should teach in a year is outrageous.”
She criticized the hypocrisy of including such micromanagement in the budget while claiming to oppose bureaucratic overreach.
“Republicans say they don’t want to do policy in the budget: but this is policy. They say that government is too bureaucratic and creates too much red tape: this is red tape. They say our universities are bloated with staff and administrators, and now they’re proposing an absurdly complex system that requires annual reporting and massive management. They’re creating the very bloat they claim to oppose.”
Instead of political interference, Stroud urged respect for the principle of shared governance in higher education:
“Let the experts—the ones who actually do this work day in and day out—determine how best to run our universities, not a legislature filled with misinformation and resentment toward the institutions that power our communities, educate our young people, train our workforce, and fuel our economy.”
While acknowledging that the budget contains some improvements compared to earlier proposals, Stroud said those silver linings do not outweigh the long-term harm:
“Our public schools cannot afford this budget and my communities can’t afford this budget. It’s not what people asked for, and it’s not good enough. The vote is No.”
