Wisconsin State K-12 Budget Notes

Jason Stein:

Gov. Jim Doyle will maintain in his upcoming budget proposal the state's commitment to funding two-thirds of the cost of public schools - the state's single biggest expenditure and the largest source of revenue for most schools, a Doyle spokesman confirmed Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said that the state's funding level for schools was important to property taxpayers.

"It's good to keep that commitment because then we can keep the property taxes even or lower the property taxes," Robson said.

Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, agreed but noted that more money from the state doesn't necessarily mean more money for schools overall. That's because their revenues are kept under state limits and they could have to lower property taxes if their state aids rise, he said.

Though Doyle and other past Republican governors have referred to the state's funding commitment as a full two- thirds, it technically has fallen short of that in the past because calculations don't include other fees and federal money that schools might receive, Berry said.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 10, 2007 6:23 AM
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