WEAC Advocates for Bills Filling Gaps Left by State Budget

WEAC President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen spoke at a September 11 news conference at the state Capitol in support of the Kids First package of bills consistent with WEAC’s demands to increase school generalization aid, require the high cost of vouchers to appear on every tax bill and provide healthy school meals for all.

While WEAC is advocating for a sweeping package to support public education in the wake of a disappointing 2025-27 state budget, Wirtz-Olsen said these initiatives cannot wait.

“Why should our kids be forced to learn in crowded classrooms and why should parents have to worry if summer school or special education will be funded when Wisconsin has a budget surplus and can do so much better,” Wirtz-Olsen said.

While the 2025-27 state budget includes no generalized education aid for either budget year, the proposed bill would guarantee that every school district receives at least as much state aid as it did last school year.

More than half of the school districts in Wisconsin have been forced to go to referendum just to meet everyday expenses as schools have lost more than 20 percent to inflation over the same period. When school referendums pass, the increased funding comes from increased local property taxes.

“We know that Wisconsin students deserve better,” Wirtz-Olsen said. “Increasing general aid is the most direct, effective way to provide relief not just to students but to taxpayers.”

The voucher transparency bill is a new version of a bill that has been drafted in previous legislative sessions but hasn’t gotten a hearing in the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Private school vouchers are paid out of school districts’ general state aid, and school districts have the option of raising property taxes to make up for the lost revenue. Property tax bills currently include information on the money going towards the town, the county, the technical college and local public school districts, but costs for private voucher schools and private charter schools are not separated from public school costs. The voucher transparency bill would list these costs on every household’s tax bills.

The Healthy School Meals for All bill would make free breakfast and lunch available to all K-12 students in Wisconsin without requiring students to demonstrate family income and financial need.