State Budget Toolkit

2025-27 Budget Summary

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Here’s what you need to know:

A back-room budget deal struck by Governor Tony Evers, Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein and Senate republicans is an affront to every educator, student and family in Wisconsin, said Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, a teacher and president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council. 

“Let’s call this what it is: a complete betrayal of public schools,” Wirtz-Olsen said in a call to action to tens of thousands of Wisconsin Public School teachers and support staff. “Given the ugly truth about this proposed budget deal, educators and families need to be ready for every option.  

“If you think things can’t get worse, look at what’s coming from Washington—a federal attack on public education. Wisconsin cannot withstand the double-blow to public schools and we have every right to be angry. We will channel our anger to any and all politicians who refuse to join us in demanding better for Wisconsin’s children and educators.” 

What you need to know about the state budget deal 

• ZERO New State Aid: Not a single new state aid dollar for K-12 public schools. Sixty-six percent of districts are already set to LOSE state aid next year, and this budget will only make it worse as funding won’t keep up with inflation. That means more cuts, more layoffs and more referendums just to keep the lights on.  
• Short on Special Education Reimbursement. 42 percent in 2025-26, 45 percent in 2026-27. The reimbursement represents flat funding, which does not adjust for needs or inflation, rather than sum sufficient so experts say support will fall significantly short. 
• Leaving Students Hungry. Does not include universal free school meals, as the governor’s original proposal did.  
• Failing to Meet Mental Health Needs. In a time when politicians have said they understand the need to address serious mental health issues, the budget deal only offers a small fraction of the increase originally proposed.
• Billions in Surplus, But Not for Kids: The state is swimming in surplus cash, but instead of investing in our children, politicians are handing out tax breaks to the wealthy and empty promises to those of us who teach the children.
• Permanent Damage: This budget will further gut Wisconsin’s ability to recruit and keep quality educators, update classrooms and provide basic support to keep students learning. The long-term consequences will be devastating. 

We worked too hard to let this happen 

WEAC members have been relentlessly advocating for a better budget, and we won’t stop now. 

What we are requesting
WEAC and the entire public education community are in lockstep on our common-sense demands for state public school funding: 

·        Spendable new state aid that keeps up with inflation, low-revenue limit adjustments, increases in per pupil categorical aid and more general equalization aid; 

·        Special education reimbursement of 60 percent; 

·        Healthy school meals for all students; and 

·        Access to mental health support for every student in every school.