Evers statement on K-12 education budget

MADISON — State Superintendent Tony Evers issue a statement today on the 2019-21 budget being submitted to fund kindergarten through 12th-grade education in Wisconsin.

“The budget I’m submitting responds to the very real challenges our schools and educators face each and every day. It changes how we fund our schools and provides resources to our educators to meet the needs of every child. Specifically, our budget:

• Makes an unprecedented $600 million investment in special education, increasing the reimbursement rate from 25 percent to 60 percent, while expanding funding for English learners and rural schools;
• Provides nearly $64 million more for student mental health funding, a tenfold increase over FY19;
• Funds full-day 4-year-old kindergarten for our youngest learners, creates the state’s first funding stream for afterschool programs, and establishes new opportunities for children in our largest urban school districts;
• Reforms our broken school finance system to help districts of all sizes, including revenue limit fairness so lower spending districts can catch up and all districts can plan for the future; and
• Achieves two-thirds state funding of our schools without raising property taxes.

“Our students deserve our support as they prepare to inherit this great state. As parents, fellow educators, taxpayers, and citizens of Wisconsin, I ask for your support during the 2019-21 biennial budget process so that every child gets a shot at a great Wisconsin education.”

NOTE: More information about the 2019-21 budget for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction can be found online: Budget Highlights - Full Budget