Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Gov. Evers unveils initiatives aligned with State Superintendent Underly’s budget
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DPI Media Line, (608) 266-3559MADISON — State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly today applauded Gov. Tony Evers for in large part supporting her budget initiatives on youth mental health, school nutrition, and early childhood education.
As announced during his 2024 State of the State Address, Gov. Evers will incorporate much of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-27 budget items relating to youth mental health, school nutrition, and early childhood education into his own budget. In November, Dr. Underly proposed historic investments in youth mental health ($304 million), school nutrition ($311 million) and early childhood education that meets the growing needs of Wisconsin students and public schools, including providing nutritious meals to kids at no cost to families and eliminating unpaid meal debt, furthering support to schools through the School-Based Mental Health Services Program, and ensuring schools offering 4K programming receive necessary funding.
“Investing in Wisconsin’s children and families is not just the right thing to do – it’s essential. We know exactly what needs to be done to address the growing challenges in our state. These proposals are straightforward and necessary. Too many kids in Wisconsin are unsure of – or if – they will have their next meal, and they’re facing severe mental health challenges. Our public schools are facing unprecedented funding issues due to years of underfunding by the legislature. We have the knowledge, resources and money to solve these problems, and we will fund them. I hope the legislature recognizes the urgency of this moment and acts accordingly during the upcoming budget process.”
NOTE: An official photo of Dr. Underly is available on the DPI's website.