MADISON, WI – Today, the Wisconsin State Assembly held a vote on the latest version of the state budget, which includes significant cuts to Governor Evers’ proposed investments in education, healthcare, and public safety. Representative Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) released the following statement:
“Today we in the State Assembly were asked to vote on a budget that has missed so many opportunities to improve the lives of our constituents across the state. Throughout this budget process, the 78th Assembly District, the district that I am proud to serve, made it very clear: we cannot afford to keep underfunding our schools, our healthcare systems, our public services, and the resources that so many people are depending on to survive.
Wisconsin consistently ranks at the bottom of the list in so many measures of a healthy state. We have one of the greatest Black-white school achievement gaps in the country. We have one of the highest mortality and morbidity rates for Black infants across our nation. We chronically underspend our peers on general education, special education, funding for our university system, and programs that keep our residents safe.
From education to childcare to healthcare, our constituents have spoken loud and clear: we must invest in these critical programs if we are to remain a successful state.
Since Day 1, I have advocated for full, 100% reimbursement of special education costs. As a former Special Education teacher for the Madison Metropolitan School District, I have seen firsthand how teachers, families, and entire districts are told to do more with less for their kids with the highest support needs.
Since Day 1, I have advocated for supporting our UW-System, one of the largest drivers of workforce recruitment and retention across our state. When we cut programs, when we cut support for tuition, when we cut funding for new buildings and infrastructure, we are guaranteeing that our next generation of doctors, teachers, and engineers is going to start looking for opportunities outside our borders.
Our colleges and universities are not the only institutions in need of new infrastructure. As the Ranking Democratic Member on the Corrections Committee, I have advocated for closing Green Bay Correctional Institution, our oldest prison, and seriously renovating Waupun Correctional Institution for the safety of our correctional officers and persons in our care.
I have supported Governor Evers’ proposals to create an Office of the Ombudsperson in the Department of Corrections, to expand our earned release program, and to fund supports for people reentering our community after incarceration. We cannot leave our incarcerated and justice-impacted Wisconsinites behind when we complete this budget.
I have also advocated to Governor Evers to create and fund the Office of Violence Prevention, which he created by Executive Order earlier this year. Let me be clear: we need to invest in proactive measures that prevent violence, not just responses when violence occurs.
Part of those proactive measures is investigating the systemic root causes behind violence and treating violence when it occurs. Those principles are at the heart of my proposal to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, which was also included in Governor Evers’ biennial budget proposal. The work of this task force will be a critical tool for combatting the heightened levels of violence and homicide that African American women face every day in our state, so much so that in 2020, we led the nation in the rate of Black women getting killed.
We need a budget that works for all Wisconsinites, regardless of age, wealth, race, or gender, a budget that properly funds our schools, keeps our communities safe from violence, and maintains access to the programs that our constituents rely on.
In the immortal words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’ We cannot do this budget halfway. A budget that only serves some of us is not a sustainable budget for any of us. I voted no on today’s budget because I believe that we as a state are obligated to do better by the people who elected us to this Capitol.”
