NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) – The new two-year state budget has finally been signed into law.
Governor Scott Walker inked the $76-billion spending plan during a Thursday afternoon ceremony at Neenah’s Tullar Elementary School.
Walker selected the Fox Valley school since education is one of the key components he has touted in the document, with a $639-million funding increase for K-12 education included in the plan.
“This budget makes major, major investments in support for education in the state of Wisconsin. Not only in how much we spend per student, but there’s big investments in helping provide mental health services for our students, helping special needs kids in our schools. There’s $11,500,000,000 invested in schools and K-12 education in this budget. At the same time, we have lower property taxes on a medium-valued house.”
While he is pleased with the majority of the spending plan, Republican Representative John Nygren, who co-chairs the Joint Finance Committee, is disappointed Walker vetoed a proposal that would have provided more money for low-revenue school districts.
“It is an inequality in our system that here we had an opportunity to fix it. I do understand the governor’s concerns with impacting property taxes, but to me it’s about: if you allow everyone to start from a similar playing field, then we can have those conversations about the impact on taxes.”
That was one of 99 partial vetoes Walker issued on the budget.
GOP Senator Roger Roth says he’s pleased with how school funding shook out.
“We’re spending more on K-12 education than any other time in the history of our state. I think that just shows that we’re committed to making sure our children have the tools that they need to be successful in the future.”
Sticking with learning institutions, the UW System’s current tuition freeze remains in place, with lawmakers rejecting Walker’s proposed tuition cut.
Though, the System does receive a $31.5-million funding boost.
As for transportation, the document calls for an additional $400-million in borrowing to pay for roads, delaying ongoing projects.
Democratic Representative Gordon Hintz cites transportation as his chief concern with the budget, with which he is not pleased.
“The governor is 0-4 in addressing this problem in his budgets.”
A new fee has been imposed on hybrid and electric vehicles.
The budget also removes a state tax that had been used to support Wisconsin’s forestry programs.
Wisconsin’s new budget is nearly three months overdue, with the state’s new fiscal year having started on July 1. Since then, previous spending levels have remained in effect.
