State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly delivered the State of Education address today at the State Capitol. In her remarks, she addressed the state of K-12 Education in Wisconsin and discussed challenges to students, teachers, parents, and schools as a whole.
Below are several excerpts from her speech. You can find her full remarks HERE. (more…)
DPI will be sending a reminder this week that ESSER II funds must be spent by September 30, 2023. They are encouraging school district leaders to check on your district’s ESSER II balance. In addition, please remember that the federal government allows for late liquidation, but late liquidation only gives districts an extension to claim on ESSER II funds that were spent before the deadline of September 30, 2023. Any funds that are not spent by September 30, 2023 must be returned to the federal government and may allow elected officials to make the case that school districts are not in need of funding.
Resources for ESSER II, including details about DPI open office hours, can be found at https://dpi.wi.gov/crrsaa/esser-ii.
The anonymous legislator or legislators on the Joint Finance Committee have withdrawn their objection to moving forward with a public school financial data portal being developed by the Department of Public Instruction. The WASB views this as a positive development that should allow the process of developing the portal to continue based on recommendations from a bipartisan advisory committee.
See previous WASB release and blog post on the topic. (more…)
Resuming session today for the first time since the passage of the State Budget, the Senate voted along party lines to override the partial veto of Governor Evers that raised per pupil revenue limits for the next 402 years. Republicans hold 2/3rds of the chamber, which allows them to override gubernatorial vetoes despite unanimous Democratic opposition. The move comes as part of a larger fight over Governor Evers’ partial vetoes of the Republican tax cuts contained in the state budget. The matter now moves to the Assembly, where the GOP will have to either garner Democratic support or hope a few Democrats are missing from the vote in order to complete (Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) pictured).
This Thursday, the GOP led Senate will attempt to override some of Governor Evers’ partial vetoes used in the 2023-25 Budget. One of the partial vetoes under threat was used to raise per pupil revenue limits by $325 annually for the next 402 years.
In Wisconsin, it takes a 2/3rds supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate to override a veto. Currently the GOP holds a 2/3rds supermajority in the Senate, but are just shy of that benchmark in the Assembly. In order to override the veto in the Assembly, Republicans would need Democratic support or a small number of Democratic lawmakers to be absent during the vote.
Last week, Speaker Robin Vos announced the formation of four bipartisan task forces designed to tackle critical issues facing Wisconsinites. These task forces will be addressing artificial intelligence, childhood obesity, truancy in K-12 education, and human trafficking. Due to their subject area, all four task forces could have some effect on Wisconsin schools. Yesterday, Speaker Vos made his appointments to the Speaker’s Task Forces, which are listed below: (more…)