PHOTO: GBAPSD
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The leader of one of Wisconsin’s largest public school districts is urging lawmakers to reconsider how much money in the next state budget will be allocated to education.
In a letter sent Monday to Green Bay-area state senators and representatives, as well as local media outlets, Green Bay Area Public School District Superintendent Vicki Bayer expressed her “deep disappointment” in the budget proposal.
“At a time when the state has an unprecedented state surplus, it is difficult to understand why the state of Wisconsin would not invest in the vast majority of children who attend public schools,” Bayer said.
Last week, the Joint Finance Committee approved a motion, along a party-line vote, to include in its 2025-27 state budget approximately $229 million in new funding for special education. That amount is significantly less than what had been proposed by Democrats, who were looking to increase the primary special education reimbursement rate to 60%.
What was approved by the JFC would put the reimbursement rate at 35% in year one of the next two-year budget, and 37.5% in year two.
“Every year, we have to take about $35 million from our general fund that supports all of our students, and we have to shift that over to cover the expenses for students with disabilities,” Bayer previously said in an interview.
Bayer also asked the JFC to modify their proposal to provide state aid for a $325 per pupil increase for both years of the upcoming budget.
Shifting the $325 per pupil increase for 2025-26 and 2026-27 to local property taxpayers, rather than funding through state aid, appears contrary to the concerns legislators are raising about school districts seeking community financial support through referendums. This funding should come through state aid rather than passing on the responsibility to our locally elected school boards to raise taxes.
Bayer has been vocal in her push for school funding this budget cycle. She wrote another letter last week to state lawmakers speaking out about her worries for funding for public schools.
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