BUILDING a Better and

Brighter Wisconsin:
Reinvesting in public education

Wisconsin once had a proud tradition of of investing in

our public schools. Whether you lived in a city, suburb,
or a rural community, families across our state knew that
their children were attending good schools that were
preparing them for the future. However, things have
changed and we’ve seen a misguided approach and a lack
of vision toward our schools. We need to fix the broken
funding formula and ensure the state is contributing

“It’s time Wisconsin put more in order to reduce class sizes, provide the resources
teachers need, and allow for schools to make capital

our public schools first!” investments without raising local property taxes year
after year. It’s time Wisconsin put public schools first and,
as governor, we’re going to create one of the strongest
systems in the Midwest.
 THE WASHINGTON POST | JULY 13TH, 2015 | BY VALERIE STRAUSS

GOV. SCOTT WALKER SAVAGES WISCONSIN

PUBLIC EDUCATION IN NEW BUDGET

IT’S TIME TO FULLY-FUND K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION

Year after year we’ve seen the state make a smaller SCOTT WALKER IS STARVING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
contribution toward funding our local public
schools. This means you, the property taxpayer,
pay more and more whether you’re a homeowner
or a renter. Since Scott Walker took office nearly
eight years ago, he and Republican allies have cut
well over $1 billion from our K-12 public schools.
Meanwhile Governor Tommy Thompson made
a pledge in 1996 that the state would fully-fund
our schools to 2/3’s, meaning the state would
contribute 66% of the needs of our schools. That
simply hasn’t happened and it’s time we make our
public schools a priority.

No more resorting to referendums

The state isn’t taking action, so members of
communities all across Wisconsin are taking
matters into their own hands and voting on local
referendums to raise their property taxes to fund
public education projects. In April of 2018, voters
approved 56 out of 66 school referendums on the
ballot. This included $439 million in borrowing for
new construction, $123 million to expand operating
budgets for a set period, and $4 million to expand
budgets on a permanent basis.1 We’re going to take
Source: Legislative Fiscal Bureau
action so communities feel some relief.

Fixing a broken funding formula

Wisconsin’s formula to fund our K-12 public schools is broken, and it’s going to take real work to fix it. We have far too
many urban and rural districts that don’t have the property tax base to fully fund their education systems. If Wisconsin
wants to build a 21st century economy, we need a 21st century education system. As governor, I will provide real
leadership to end our broken education funding formula and develop a new formula that provides equitable funds for
both high and low property tax districts.

Reducing class sizes that are currently damaging to students and teachers
While Wisconsin’s average teacher-to-pupil ratio is around 15:1,2 many of our urban districts are closer to 25 or 30
students per teachers. If we want to adequately educate our kids, we need smaller class sizes and more teachers. Under
the current administration, we have also seen the ending of the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education which was
a program designed to decrease class sizes. We can’t afford to continue letting our class sizes grow and negatively impact
our educational outcomes.
INVESTING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR OUR ECONOMY AND OUR FUTURE
OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVES TO REDEFINE
K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN WISCONSIN:
• Fully-fund K-12 public education
with the state making a 2/3’s contribution.
• Ending the caps on revenue that a school district can take in.
• Allowing communities to vote to raise their
own sources of revenue to exceed baseline
needs and pay off debt without limitations.
• Have the Department of Public Instruction develop and
implement a strategic 20-year plan for public education
across the state, focusing on science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM), along with entrances
to the trades.
• Teaching financial literacy in high school so students who
are about to enter the workforce are aware of the risk of loans
(students loans, credit cards, etc.), how to do your taxes, along
with how to plan & invest for their future & retirement from day one.
• Promoting applicable education programs that will help
young adults find jobs here in Wisconsin, including everything
from how to write a resume to starting your own business.
• Re-investing in the arts so kids have the opportunity to
engage in creativity and contribute to Wisconsin’s culture.
• Ending the school-to-prison pipeline across Wisconsin.
• Increasing mental health and trauma-related
services to kids at an early age.
• Making investments to expose kids to the trades. This goes
beyond “shop class” and teaches students about the value of
the trades, career options, and the incredible work people do
across the state.
• Expand and increase access to public Montessori schools so
kids can explore their creativity with the guidance of teachers.
• Investing in partnerships with community organizations
across the state so kids have access to after-school
programs and grow interests in community work.
• Expand community service opportunities for students who
wish to enter the Wisconsin Compact; our plan to provide
cost-free technical college tuition.
We’re going to look toward the future, where public
education is a top priority for our administration and it’s
a fundamental component to each and every community
across Wisconsin. After nearly eight years of cuts and
budgetary starvation, it’s time to take bold action to make
our K-12 system one of the best in the Midwest.
We need to end the era of Madison dictating what’s best
for students and teachers, and the tendency of Madison to
step in to impose limits on what can and cannot be done to
provide services to students and families.
“We will fully-fund K-12 public
education in Wisconsin.”
As Governor, I will look to solve problems on a local
level, not through state takeovers. If a district is having
trouble, whether it be budgetary or performance-based,
our job is to help. We can’t turn our backs on public schools,
and we’re not going to allow for unelected bureaucrats to
step in and dictate what needs to be done. We’re going to
work together, as partners, to assess the problems and find
the best solutions possible so school districts can continue
to be a part of the community and contribute to our state’s
economy.
Hostile takeover efforts being pushed in Madison have
been felt in Milwaukee and Racine, all without ever having
state leaders address the underlying problem: schools need
revenue, and the state is responsible for starving them of
the resources they need to survive.
Not only will my administration fully-fund public K-12
education, but we’re going to allow local school districts
and municipalities to seek out and obtain the additional
revenue they need. If a local community wishes to do so,
that’s a decision best left to them to decide; not Madison.
Access to a high-quality public education in Wisconsin
should be the right of any Wisconsin resident. We’re
going to treat our public education system as an economic
driver and investment in our future by fostering growth,
promoting new skills, and working with communities to
provide the resources schools need the most.
 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Ashley Luthern | May 13, 2018 |
GOV. SCOTT WALKER HINTS AT STATE ACTION ON MILWAUKEE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SAYS IT MIGHT BE TIME TO ‘SHAKE THINGS UP’
APPLYING THE WISCONSIN IDEA TO K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION
The Wisconsin Idea is one of the most fundamental
notions in education in our state. We have a tradition and
vision written into our state statutes stating our public
universities make a contribution to society and act to
solve problems, improve our quality of life, our health,
and the environment for everyone in our state.
We value what the University of Wisconsin System does,
its place in our society, and knowing that it’s meant to
build a strong economy. We’ve been able to compete
regionally because the UW System has been a robust
economic engine that generates $23 billion annually for
our state’s economy.3
“Reduce property taxes or increase
spending on public schools?”
g
g spendin
Increasin chools
s
Reducing on public
taxes
property
Source: Marquette Law School Poll, March 5, 2018
It’s time we take the same approach to K-12 public
education and ensure that our K-12 system is a trusted,
protected, and valued institution that receives the proper
investment year after year. The UW System doesn’t have
to rely on local municipalities raising property taxes just
to get by, and neither should any school district in the
state of Wisconsin.
“As governor, I will look to solve
problems on a local level, not
through state takeovers.”
In the fall of 2014, voters passed a constitutional
amendment to prevent the our state transportation fund
from being used to cover other any other expenditures
in the state budget. We’re going to ensure that our K-12
system is a public institution that is protected not only for
this generation, but for generations to come. That’s why
we’re going to push for a state constitutional amendment
to fully-fund public education that not only requires the
existence of a public K-12 education system, but also
protects its funding and requires the state to fund 2/3’s
of all costs to end the local struggle once and for all.
Wisconsin’s public schools are going to be a cornerstone
of our economic future. We’re going to make new
investments to teach young kids about science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); the
jobs of the future. We’re going to create a pipeline between
high schools and trade schools, ensuring that anyone
who wants to enter the trades and contribute to building
Wisconsin has access to training and apprenticeship
programs. We’re going to treat our K-12 education the
same way we’re going to treat our university system: with
a forward-thinking approach and the understanding of
its importance to our society, economy, and quality of life.
PUBLIC DOLLARS BELONG IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
We’ve seen well in excess of $1 billion stripped away
from our public schools and handed to private
institutions that remain unaccountable and isolated.
Public dollars belong in public schools. We’re going
to freeze the expansion of state voucher programs and
focus on investing in public K-12 education.
Throughout Wisconsin rural, urban, and small-
city school districts have cut art, band, and physical
education programs. Libraries are unstaffed, and
students use decades-old books. This is Scott Walker’s
legacy for K-12 education in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s
taxpayers cannot afford two separate and unequal school
systems. We must remain committed to ensuring that
all youth receive a globally competitive education, but
the reality for Wisconsin and our nation is that quality
of education is dependent on zip code.
Because of this, alternative schools have become
a popular option - but they shouldn’t become the
norm. I have long said, public dollars should go to
public education to ensure that no matter age, race,
socioeconomic status, or neighborhood, our children
have abundant resources and their educators are
adequately supported. Absent that, communities
across Wisconsin have had to consider alternative
options. As governor, I’ll do everything I can to reverse
the damage that eight years of Scott Walker have done
to our schools and, simultaneously, the future of our
state.
UNIVERSAL PRE-KINDERGARTEN
President Barack Obama said in 2013 he wanted to
see universal preschool or pre-kindergarten across our
country. While that effort stalled in congress, we can
take the lead on this issue here in Wisconsin. States like
Georgia, Oklahoma, and Florida have all developed
pre-kindergarten programs, which shows that it can
be done regardless of the political climate of the state.
In Wisconsin, roughly 33% of three and four-year-olds
participate in state-sponsored pre-kindergarten.4 We
need to increase the pre-kindergarten programs offered
to three and four-year-olds.
“We will expand pre-kindergarten
and increase educational outcomes.”
The cost of private pre-kindergarten can cost a family
thousands of dollars, which many can’t afford. We have
far too many kids in both urban and rural settings
who are losing out because they don’t have access to a
universal pre-kindergarten program and the benefits
that come with it. In a National Public Radio report
from 2017, researchers were quoted as saying that
“kids who attend public pre-kindergarten programs are
better prepared for kindergarten than kids who don’t.5
Research has proven that we need to expand these
programs for the benefit of our kids in the present and
for the future of our state.
To pay for this program, we will look to create an
additional tax bracket for the highest income-earning
individuals in Wisconsin. Through this bracket, we
can add millions of dollars to a new, state-of-the-art
universal preschool program and keep our budget in
order. We can develop programs here in Wisconsin
which create a better path forward for our kids, and
increase their odds at success in life.
TO REBUILD WISCONSIN WE NEED A ROBUST EDUCATION SYSTEM
Since 2011, the current administration has failed to Part of the equation includes getting people involved
provide real leadership on the issues related to public in the education system as an early age. The time for
education. School districts across the state have turned universal preschool is here and as governor, I will look
to local referendums to fund necessary improvements. to passing legislation which provides school options for
We need real leadership to create a new system, which our youngest learners. We have seen states across the
ends the local burden of going to a referendum. This political spectrum provide this necessary service and it
will need to include a concerted effort to change the is time to bring that to Wisconsin.
funding formula. Residents in urban and rural school
We can build a better, brighter future here in Wisconsin
districts have suffered from a poor funding system here
by remaking our education system. Over the last eight
in Wisconsin. School districts are funded in part by
years we have seen poor leadership from the current
property taxes, which are dependent on the assessed
administration. By working together, with education
value of said properties. Together we can create a
leaders from both rural and urban areas we can improve
system which funds school districts in both high and
the educational outcomes here in Wisconsin. It is time
low property value school districts.
for Wisconsin to be not just open for business, but open
If we don’t invest in our education, our economy will for education.
continue to fall behind other states. Wisconsin can
build a new, bold education system which increases
outcomes in both rural and urban school districts. We
need a generational transformation for communities
that are getting left behind.

1
Tamarine Cornelius, “School Funding Referendums: A Win for Public Education,”
Wisconsin Budget Project, http://www.wisconsinbudgetproject.org/voters-approve-school-referendums, (April 6, 2018)
2
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “Wisconsin Public Schools at a Glance,” https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/eis/pdf/schools_at_a_glance.pdf, (May 2016)
3
University of Wisconsin System, “Restructuring Is Positioning Students and UW System for the Future, Chancellors Say,” https://www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive/
restructuring-is-positioning-students-and-uw-system-for-the-future-chancellors-say-day-1-news-summary, (April 5, 2018)
4
Robert Lynch and Kavya Vaghul, “A snapshot of the long-term impacts of universal pre-k in Wisconsin,” The Washington Center for Equitable Growth, http://
equitablegrowth.org/human-capital/state-page-wi, (December 2, 2015)
5
Claudio Sanchez, “Pre-K: Decades Worth Of Studies, One Strong Message,” National Public Radio,
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/05/03/524907739/pre-k-decades-worth-of-studies-one-strong-message, (May 3, 2017)

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P.O.Box 628 Madison, WI 53701
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