UNITE FOR THE 2023-25 BUDGET WISCONSIN KIDS DESERVE!

See our archived budget action pages from previous cycles: 2021-23; 2019-21; 2017-19.

TAKE ACTION! Be an ambassador for the budget Wisconsin kids deserve in your community.

SIGN & JOIN
the movement
TOOLKIT
for budget ambassadors

See our full one-page handout of 2023-25 budget priorities here.

Budget priorities handout here.

Click a green button below to jump to the corresponding section:

April 2023

Official Budget Hearings with the Joint Committee on Finance

  • April 5 in Waukesha; April 11 in Eau Claire; April 12 in Wisconsin Dells; April 26 in Minocqua
  • Written comments accepted anytime.
  • Read more here.

Join us in person at the JFC listening sessions! Let us know which one you’re attending here.

Missed our testimony training? Check out this two-page document of testimony resources adapted from our 2021 toolkit!

February-March 2023

Feb. 14: Gov. Evers introduced his Education Budget 

See a statement on the Governor’s budget proposal from our executive director Heather DuBois Bourenane and Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools President Sandy Whisler here.

Feb. 15: Gov. Evers delivers Budget Address. Watch on Wisconsin Eye: https://wiseye.org/live/

What’s next: Fiscal Bureau will analyze the bill, then the Joint Finance Committee will review and schedule public hearings.

December 2022-January 2023: Gov. Evers’ “Doing the Right Thing” Listening Session Tour

Gov. Evers announced a listening session tour open to the public, ahead of his drafting the 2023-25 executive budget:

Join Us!
  • Feb. 2, 2023, 7-8pm: Budget Ambassador Training. Toolkit available here.
  • Feb. 6, 2023, 7-8:30pm: School Finance in Wisconsin: Where We Are, How We Got Here, What Is Ahead with Anne Chapman of WASBO. Archive available here.
  • March 1, 2023, 6-8pm: Budget Action Workshop. Archive available here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Important 2023 Dates:
  • Jan. 24, 2023: Governor’s State of the State Address
  • Feb. 14, 2023: Governor Evers Introduces Education Budget
  • Feb. 15, 2023: Governor’s 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message
  • Feb. 27 – Mar. 3, 2023: Public Schools Week
PUBLIC SCHOOL CHAMPIONS are…

…preparing testimony for the Joint Finance Committee’s budget listening sessions.
(April 5 in Waukesha; April 11 in Eau Claire; April 12 in Wisconsin Dells; and April 26 in Minocqua)

Missed our testimony training? Check out this two-page document of testimony resources adapted from our 2021 toolkit!

…meeting with lawmakers to make sure they understand the needs of local students.

…getting their communities involved in the process and educating them on how the budget works.

Click to visit the toolkit!
Archives below!

BUDGET ACTION WORKSHOP ARCHIVE:

Part one: Welcome, budget breakdown with State Budget Director Brian Pahnke, and being a budget ambassador

Part two: Crafting compelling testimony and amplifying your story

Read the full 2023-25 Executive Budget here.

Read the Budget in Brief here.

See a statement on the Governor’s budget proposal from our executive director Heather DuBois Bourenane and Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools President Sandy Whisler here.

Read our reaction to the Department of Public Instruction’s 2023-25 education budget proposal and State Superintendent Underly’s and Governor Evers’ September announcement stating their education priorities for the upcoming budget.

What would a 60% reimbursement mean to your school district? This memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows the impacts of the governor’s proposal on every district in the state.

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES:

School Funding Basics with Dr. Julie Underwood, Sept. 2022.

School Funding 102 with Dr. Julie Underwood and Bob Soldner of DPI, Feb. 2021

School Finance in Wisconsin: Where we are, how we got here, what is ahead with Anne Chapman of WASBO, Feb. 2023

HOW TO BUILD THE BUDGET WISCONSIN KIDS DESERVE:

  1. Increase the state reimbursement of districts’ special education costs to 60% in 2023-24 and 90% in 2024-25.
  2. Increase spendable state funds by at least $1,500* per student across the board, raise districts’ spending authority and adjust for inflation, with the ultimate goal of eliminating revenue limits.
  3. Prioritize investments where the needs are greatest: in English language learning (ELL), mental health support, services for students in poverty, rural schools, pre-K needs, and support for attracting and retaining educators.
  4. Impose a moratorium on the expansion of voucher and independent (non-district) charter spending.

A just budget is one that closes the gaps that currently exist and makes no investments in gap-widening measures.

See our full one-page handout of budget priorities here.

*Source for our $1,500 figure: Legislative Fiscal Bureau Memo, January 2023.

YOU can be an ambassador for the budget Wisconsin kids deserve in your community.

SIGN & JOIN
the movement
TOOLKIT
for budget ambassadors

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE! We are following updates, news, and announcements on the budget process and will keep public school champions up-to-date with how they can take action where they live.

TELL YOUR STORY! Budgets are about people. They are about local kids. Put students first and make sure decision-makers know how the state budget affects them. See our 2022 messaging toolkit here.

CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS! Let them know what local students need! Share your story! See our legislative contact list here.

School board members, district administrators, and local advocates: Your school board can pass a resolution or set of legislative priorities related to the state budget. Some fantastic models below (have a great example that isn’t on this list? Email it to Christian@WisconsinNetwork.org):

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly Biennial Budget Testimony as Prepared for Delivery