Madison School City Council / BOE Liason Committee

Many of the questions raised had to do with how we resolve the tension between our schools and taxpayers, between families with kids in school and families without kids in school. Our schools have helped set Wisconsin apart - they help our kids get good jobs when they grow up, and they are a reason why businesses choose to locate here.

But as property taxes have gone up and up and up, it's getting harder and harder on our families. Rising property taxes can take a toll on young families struggling to afford their first home, and can be even tougher for seniors on fixed incomes who are trying to stay in their homes.

For too long now, property taxpayers and our schools have been pitted against each other. It's always been a choice between higher taxes or cutting education. I think that's a false choice, and when we pit kids and taxpayers against each other, it's Wisconsin that loses.

There is no reason why we cannot resolve this tension. And we need to start with this simple premise - property taxpayers in this state have done their part.

At the same time, we must also uphold the basic Wisconsin value that says every child deserves a great education.

That's why in my budget, I made school funding the priority so that schools could get the support they needed from the state without having to raise property taxes on local homeowners. My budget freezes property taxes - but it does it in a way that protects our schools.

To fund that increase for schools without forcing communities to raise property taxes, I made tough choices. I cut $270 million in government overhead, and eliminated 1,800 positions from the state payroll. My administration is renegotiating contracts and making government more efficient. We're even selling off state planes and cars, so that tax money is spent more wisely, on priorities like education.

Unfortunately, the Legislature has a different set of priorities. And that's bad news for schools and property taxpayers alike.

In March, the Legislature held hearings to get feedback from the public as they prepared to write their version of the budget. Hundreds of people drove to Watertown, Sheboygan, and other communities to voice their concerns about state support for our schools, and rising taxes.

Citizens told Legislative leaders that education - K-12 to the UW System - needed to be a priority. However, the way the budget was written and passed by Republicans in the Legislature - you would think they weren't even there.

Republicans offered a budget that shortchanges education. Instead of funding schools, Republicans spent millions on special interests and earmarked even more pork spending projects in their own districts. And when they were done with all this special interest spending, all they had left for education was enough for just over a one percent increase.

We know in this day and age that one percent just isn't enough to keep up with the cost of living. Look at what's happening with gas prices. One percent won't even meet the extra cost of putting gas in the buses or heating the buildings, let alone new textbooks and the cost of salaries.

The result will be that once again, schools and property taxpayers will be pitted against each other. Unless citizens agree to yet another property tax increase, schools will be forced to raise class sizes, cut programs like art, music, and athletics, and lay-off teachers. In fact, one study estimates that without an increase in property taxes, the Republican budget would cause up to 5,000 teacher lay-offs.

My budget provided a modest increase for schools - about three percent a year - enough to help deal with the rising costs without having to cut vital education programs. It gave the same level of increase allowed by law over the past decade, by both Democratic and Republican Governors. My budget included enough money so that the state would pay for these increases over the next two years, so that local property taxes could be frozen.

The Legislature knows it costs more to do business. They increased spending for state government by about five percent, but they are asking schools to live with one percent. They've just got their priorities all mixed up.

But true to the spirit of Wisconsin, the question I heard most from citizens at these town hall meetings was what they could do to help stop these education cuts from happening.

Call your Senators. Tell them that Wisconsin wants a budget that freezes property taxes without hurting education.

As this process moves forward, I'm going to keep fighting and use every power I have to make sure that we can get a reasonable cost of living increase for our schools ... and a real property tax freeze. If we are just willing to say "no" to the special interests and get rid of all this pork spending, there is no reason we can't do both.

Press release
Monday, June 27, 2005