MADISON – Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) joined her Assembly Republican colleagues in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce a plan to use the state surplus to fund schools, ensure FoodShare accuracy, provide disaster relief, and provide $2 billion in tax relief to Wisconsin families:
“I’m excited to highlight the investments in K-12 education that we’ve proposed. When we crafted the 2025-27 biennial budget last summer, we decided we’d like to increase the reimbursement rate for special education costs to 42% this school year and 45% next school year. Unfortunately, the dollar amount we appropriated to that purpose is projected to fall short of those percentages. The proposal we’re announcing today renews our commitment to reimbursing special education at 42% in 2025-26 and 45% in 2026-27.
“We’re also proposing putting $500 million towards the School Levy Tax Credit, which will offset the property tax burden that homeowners and businesses are facing. Under current law, every school district can raise their revenue limit by $325 per pupil. These are resources that go directly to our schools. Our proposal simply offsets the property tax burden imposed by those revenue limit increases.
“Perhaps what may be most exciting for the public, our plan would provide an income tax rebate to anyone who filed state income taxes in Wisconsin for tax year 2024. Our proposal would provide a rebate equal to $500 per individual ($1,000 married-joint), or their net tax liability, whichever is less. This is cash directly in the pockets of hardworking Wisconsinites.
“The state has a surplus, and Legislative Republicans are committed to returning as much of it as we can to the taxpayers who overpaid. We are hopeful we can reach an agreement with Governor Evers on this package this week. I urge him to come to the table and get this done.”