Proposed state budget focuses on education

MADISON — State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor lauds Governor Evers’ proposed state budget as a historic investment in education and young people that will advance educational outcomes.

“The budget is a student-friendly education budget,” Stanford Taylor said. “We must provide the education resources all students need to be successful and this budget will do that.” Specifically, the budget:

• Makes an unprecedented $600 million investment in special education, increasing the reimbursement rate from 25 percent to 60 percent by 2020-21;
• Provides a historic increase of nearly $64 million more for student mental health funding over FY19;
• Invests in early childhood education, creates the state’s first funding stream for afterschool programs, and establishes new opportunities for children in our largest urban school districts;
• Boosts support for Wisconsin’s English learner population;
• 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; and
• Provides access to resources for schools to address water contamination, ensuring students have clean water.

“Our students deserve nothing less than our full support. I look forward to working with the governor and Legislature to advance a budget that reflects the need for all students to be safe and supported in school and have access to a Wisconsin education that prepares them to succeed in college and career.”