Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker proposes $649 million more for state schools

MADISON - Two years after Gov. Scott Walker proposed cutting K-12 funding, he is moving sharply in the opposite direction, proposing a half-billion dollar bump in broad state school aid — enough for $200 per pupil increases in each of the next two years.

By calling for $649 million more in state money for public and private schools, the Republican governor is all but announcing his intent to run for a third term next year. The two-year budget bill being unveiled by Walker on Wednesday avoids new changes to how Milwaukee schools are run and would offer nearly $9 million targeted toward students in the city.

In all, the two-year budget bill being unveiled by Walker on Wednesday would actually deliver a similar amount of state aid to that requested by state schools superintendent Tony Evers, an ally of Democrats.

But in one key difference with Evers, Walker would route the money not through the state's traditional aid formula for public schools but through an alternate approach that could draw scrutiny from advocates for the state's neediest districts.

"Overall, I think it probably surprises a lot of people," Walker told reporters Friday, clearly relishing the announcement. "You're going to see a big bang for districts that need the assistance."

In 2015, Walker was managing a GOP primary run for president as a conservative and much tougher state finances. He proposed a $127 million cut for schools in the first year of the budget, only to see it reversed by his fellow Republicans in the Legislature and watch his approval ratings slide.

With a potential 2018 campaign looming, the governor is putting forward a budget that will be more difficult for moderate Republicans and independents to criticize on schools.

To pay for it all, Walker is drawing in part on new budget estimates last month that improved the state's financial picture by $714 million through June 2019. But until he unveils his entire budget on Wednesday, it won't be clear how realistic and sustainable his proposed school spending will be.

The governor's budget would provide over the two years:

• $509 million for broad public school aid that districts could spend on teaching: a $200 per pupil increase for the 2017-'18 school year and an additional $204 increase in the 2018-'19 school year. This increase wouldn't go through the state's general aid formula, flowing instead through a special aid category with its own formula and the possibility that it could benefit suburban schools more than urban ones.
• A similar increase in money per student for taxpayer-funded private voucher schools to meet a requirement previously approved by Walker and lawmakers. 
• $11.5 billion in total state spending on education, a new high before accounting for inflation, and enough to cover 64.6% of the cost of K-12 schools statewide. That would be below the state's onetime target of paying for two-thirds of the cost of schools but is the best level since 2009, when the state hit 65.8% under then Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat.
• Total state school aid per public school increases — both general and special categories — to $6,588 in 2017-'18 and $6,902 in 2018-'19, a 3% bump in the first year and a 4.5% increase in the second from the current level of $6,376.
• $5.6 million in the 2018-’19 academic year for low-performing schools in Milwaukee to encourage improvements. Public, charter and taxpayer-funded private voucher schools could all compete for that money in the city, where 42 public schools didn't meet expectations in the most recent report card.
• $2.8 million toward Milwaukee Public Schools’ summer school program. 
• A range of funding for students with mental illness, including $2.5 million to connect students with mental health services; $500,000 more for students in Milwaukee through a different program; $3 million for school social workers in public and charter schools that are independent of public districts; and $1 million to train school workers on mental health screening.
• $7.6 million to help school districts connect disabled students with jobs.
• $300,000 for an online-based anti-bullying program being developed by Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and the Department of Public Instruction. 

These programs come in addition to rural schools proposals Walker made Wednesday to funnel $20 million more to districts with sparse populations and $10 million more for high-cost transportation aid. The governor also wants to increase technology grants by more than $22 million, create a new training pathway for rural paraprofessionals to become full-time teachers, and put an additional $1 million in the budget to support workshops for high-tech buildings known as fabrication labs.

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In his budget request, Evers asked for $58 million more in total funding and $6 million more in district teaching aid than Walker proposed. Still, Evers called Walker's plan "a great starting place."

"It's on the right trajectory," Evers said. "It's a large overall increase and it hit some real sweet spots. I can be supportive of it, and we'll advocate for some little tweaks here and there."

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said Walker's proposal comes with two significant questions: Is there enough money to fund the increase? And will the money disproportionately go to wealthier, suburban school districts?"

"There's going to be a question of whether or not this money is actually real," said Erpenbach, a member of the Senate's Committee on Finance. "Until we know that, I think the Legislature will be pretty pragmatic on this."

Evers said he will continue to push for a more equitable distribution of funds across districts, adding that Walker's proposal "doesn't get at that issue." A solution in his favor, however, doesn't appear likely during this budget cycle, he said.

Jon Bales, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, said many details of Walker's proposal remain unclear, but his organization is grateful for the significant funding increase and a few specific proposals, such as money for mental health programs.

"It's certainly what we hoped for," Bales said. "The nuances of 'how' and the particular categories of funding are second to the fact that there's an obvious recognition of the need" in school districts.

Staff writer Jacob Carpenter in Milwaukee contributed to this report.