What is Included in Wisconsin Gov. Walker's Budget for Education?

Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker has unveiled his two-year budget; see the Text of his speech. He has described the budget bill as a "return to frugality which will lead to economic freedom for millions of Wisconsin residents." The bill will have sweeping effects on how this state is operated. One segment is education for which the Governor has proposed many changes.

He has proposed to end all teacher residency requirements which require teachers to live in the district in which they teach. He will end the 180-day school year requirement but maintain the number of hours. His proposal calls for expanding the charter and school choice programs. The funding for these programs will not be cut.

The current cap on the number of students allowed to be enrolled in charter and choice schools will be eliminated. Any four-year UW system school would be able to create and operate a charter school. Income requirements for enrollment in charter and choice schools will be phased out. The cap on virtual charter schools will be eliminated.

The budget proposal has a $600,000 item to help ensure reading literacy by the third grade. The bill also ends the mandate for a reading specialist in every K-12 school. Revenue limit restrictions will be extended to include school nurses, transportation, security, and safety equipment. School nurses will no longer be required to hold a bachelor's degree.

State funding will be cut or stopped for specific categorical programs like Advance Placement, alcohol and drug treatment, at risk, and alternative education. Other funding cuts will include supplemental science, math, engineering, and technology programs.

The revenue limits per pupil will be reduced by 5.5 percent, or approximately $500 per student for the first year of the budget. Gov. Walker has further proposed to freeze local tax levies or limit them to the communities' rate of growth.

The university system will undergo major changes. Gov. Walker proposes to separate the Madison campus from the University of Wisconsin system and allow it to operate independently. A 21-member board will be created to oversee the university, with eleven members appointed by the Governor.

The remainder of the university system will receive a $250 million funding reduction. The state's technical and two-year colleges will receive a $71.6 million cut in funding. In-state tuition and fees will not be allowed for Wisconsin resident children of undocumented parents.

Current levels of state financial aid to students will be maintained. The Wisconsin Covenant Program will be eliminated. This promised financial aide to middle school students who pledged to get good grades and stay out of trouble.

Much of Gov. Walker's proposed budget depends on the passage of his Budget Repair Bill, which is stalled in the assembly. Fourteen Democratic senators have fled the state to deny a quorum in that body, which would allow the bill to pass with the Republican majority. Included in that bill is the repeal of collective bargaining for state and local public workers. Gov. Walker says this is the tool the local government agencies need to make the cuts he has proposed in his budget.