Governor's vetoes restore promise of great schools
Governor Jim Doyle used his veto pen Monday (July 25, 2005) to create a state budget that fulfills the state's promise to fund two-thirds of the cost of education while providing relief to property taxpayers.

The governor's priorities reflect Wisconsin's values and put the state back on solid ground for the future. The people of this state believe in public education, families and communities, they understand that great schools benefit everyone, and they want a state government that puts those values before politics and special interests.

The governor signed the two-year spending plan into law during a press conference at the executive residence in Madison. The budget boosts school funding by $861 million, which is $404 million more than the Legislature provided for public education in its version of the budget bill.

Responsible tax relief while investing in kids, families and communities
The Republican Legislature's budget would have resulted in disastrous cuts to education by limiting school funding increases to 1% and rolling back the per pupil adjustment under revenue controls to $120 in 2005-06 and $100 in 2006-07. Governor Doyle restored, with a line-item veto, the per pupil adjustment to $248 in 2005-06 and $252 in 2006-07. Schools were told they would have to live with only a 1% increase, which would have resulted in more than 4,000 teachers losing their jobs, larger class sizes, and cuts to programs ranging from math to music, Doyle said.

The governor also vetoed the Republican Legislature's proposal to cripple the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) class-size reduction program by making it optional in grades 2 and 3. "These proposals, under the guise of 'flexibility,' could have cut the program essentially in half and increased class sizes in Milwaukee by as much as 60%," Doyle said. "They contradict everything academic researchers tell us and what parents and teachers know: There is nothing better to help kids learn math and reading in the early grades than a quality teacher and a small class size."

The budget signed by Governor Doyle provides property tax relief by increasing the general fund balance by $360 million and vetoing pork barrel projects and other special interest spending. As a result, the average homeowner's tax bill will not increase in 2005, and will decrease by $5 in 2006. Between 2000-2004, the average property tax increase was $119 per year.

Doyle said the Republican Legislature's tax freeze called for a $350 million cut to school funding and prevented local governments from increasing their levies if they experienced growth or to keep pace with inflation. "My property tax freeze is responsible while the Legislature's freeze is really a freeze on our kids' education that would force devastating cuts to our schools," Doyle said.

WTCS spared from freeze
The Republican Legislature's tax freeze also included the Wisconsin Technical College System, which would have resulted in increasing tuition and program cuts. Doyle vetoed the provision thereby exempting the WTCS from the levy caps. The WTCS will continue to exist under current law mill rate caps.

Other budget highlights
The governor's other education-related actions include:

*Increasing state aid for special education by $15 million in FY 07, including $3M for high-cost low incidence and $12M for special education categorical aid.

*Increasing the pupil transportation reimbursement rates and adding $12.7 million in funding.

*Increasing aid for bilingual education by $2.4 million.

*Allowing school counselors and nurse services to be reimbursable under special education categorical aids. Currently, only school social worker services are eligible.

*Vetoing the $100 tax credit for families who do not send their children to public schools. The State Senate passed the proposal as part of a last-minute deal to gain the votes of hold-out legislators on July 1.

*Vetoing the Legislature's proposal to increase the teacher license fee by $100 to pay for mentoring programs. Doyle added to his budget $1.3 million to support mentoring programs for new teachers.

*Allowing school districts to carryover 100 percent of unused revenue authority from year to year.

*Vetoing expansion of the Milwaukee voucher and charter school programs.