K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Wisconsin Democrat Governor Candidate Barrett calls for $1 billion in state government cuts

Mary Spicuzza:

Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett wants to get rid of the offices of the secretary of state and the state treasurer as part of a plan he says would cut more than $1 billion from Wisconsin's budget.

Barrett said some of the savings could be achieved every year, while other cuts -- such as eliminating those constitutional offices, an uncertain and arduous process -- would represent one-time savings.

At a news conference outside the state Capitol on Monday, Barrett said his plans would include steps like combining workers statewide into pools to purchase lower-cost health insurance, cracking down on Medicaid fraud and other financial crimes, and cutting prisoner health care costs.

He also called for "right-sizing" the state employee work force but did not say if that would involve layoffs or simply not filling vacant jobs.

Barrett called it his plan for "putting Madison on a diet."

Related:

Wisconsin has seen substantial growth in redirected tax dollars devoted to K-12 public districts over the past 20+ years.

Madison School Board Vice President Beth Moss asked whether the State might further reduce redistributed tax dollars for K-12 spending in the next year, at the June 1, 2010 Budget meeting.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 7, 2010 7:31 PM
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