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The perverse stinginess of the Wisconsin GOP
A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education warned Wisconsin that we stand to lose $2.3 billion in federal funds for schools because the Republican-led Legislature’s budget so badly underfunds education that we fail to meet the minimum federal requirements for investing in kids. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated last week the […]
Wisconsin schools could lose $2.3 billion under GOP budget plan
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memo on Wednesday estimating that the amount of federal money for schools Wisconsin stands to lose under a Republican budget proposal is significantly more than an earlier estimate of $1.5 billion. The money is at risk, the U.S. Department of Education has explained, because the Legislature’s Republican majority […]
How long can Republicans keep running on resentment and austerity?
It’s breath-taking the amount of money Republicans are determined to turn away on behalf of the people of Wisconsin. When the Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported on Tuesday that the state would see an “unprecedented” revenue increase, with tax collections over the next three years predicted to more than double the money in the state’s general […]
Wisconsin members of Congress ask state legislators to revise budget for schools
In a letter to Republican leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature, Democratic U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore, Ron Kind and Mark Pocan asked state lawmakers to revisit their lean budget proposal for public schools. Last week the Department of Education warned state officials that the GOP budget proposal could result in the loss of $1.5 billion in […]
Official estimate shows big increase in state revenue
On Tuesday the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its revenue estimates based on the most recent tax filings in Wisconsin. “The increase in general fund tax collections in 2021, particularly in the months of April and May, is unprecedented,” Fiscal Bureau director Bob Lang wrote in a letter to the Legislature’s budget committee co-chairs, Rep. Mark […]
Redistricting debate begins with a rushed GOP plan in the Legislature
On Monday morning the Senate’s government operations committee took up a bill to change the timeline for redrawing Wisconsin’s political maps at the county and municipal levels. It was the first legislative hearing in what is sure to be a fraught, high-stakes debate over redistricting. The next set of voting maps will replace the gerrymandered […]
Ron Johnson meant what he said, but now he doesn’t
It’s head-spinning to listen to Sen. Ron Johnson. In a panel with state news media sponsored by the Milwaukee Press Club, the two-term Republican senator from Oshkosh took multiple, sometimes contradictory, positions on a host of issues. The most newsworthy had to do with whether he will run for re-election as the biggest ally of […]
Republicans’ school budget shell game
The proposed state budget for schools passed by the Legislature’s budget committee is so stingy, the federal government is seriously considering withdrawing $1.5 billion from our state because we don’t make an adequate investment in our own kids. But you’d never know that from the press releases put out by GOP budget committee members, crowing […]
Education Dept.: Wisconsin will lose $1.5B in federal funds under GOP school budget
In a letter to Wisconsin’s state school superintendent, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed on Friday that the state will no longer be eligible for $1.5 billion in federal COVID relief funds for school districts under the Republican Legislature’s 2021-23 budget plan for education. The GOP plan, which commits $128 million — only one-tenth of […]
Risking state’s federal funds, Republicans decimate Evers’ budget for schools
After voting down Democratic proposals based on Gov. Evers expansive plan to fund K-12 education on Thursday, the Republicans who control the Legislature’s budget committee gave their Democratic colleagues a 20-minute recess to read the revised GOP education budget plan. In summary, according to Department of Administration staff who testified at the Joint Finance Committee […]
Legislature signals no increase for school funding
As the Joint Finance Committee prepares to meet on Thursday to consider funding for Wisconsin schools, Senate President Chris Kapenga told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he doesn’t believe the Republican-controlled Legislature will increase funding for schools. “I think we’re good for right now,” Kapenga said in an interview. Kapenga said federal COVID relief funds represent […]
The troubled conscience of conservatives
Disaffected Republicans, including former Wisconsin GOP Congressman Reid Ribble, want to start a new party for conservatives — or wrest the existing Republican Party away from the forces of former President Donald Trump. Who can blame them? Last week, Wisconsin’s entire Republican House delegation voted against forming a bipartisan commission to investigate the violent mob […]