Because of WCRIS’ and our members’ advocacy, state lawmakers are considering passing a one-time, $30 million school safety grant program to protect our schools. But we need your help!
What It Is
Proposed state Senate Bill 911 (SB-911) and its companion Assembly Bill 1001 (AB-1001) would establish a school safety grant program that mirrors the state’s successful 2017 safety grant program.
Administered by Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6 (CESA 6), grants would be available to all public and private schools and could be used for improving safety measures for school buildings and providing staff training. The program will be especially helpful to schools that didn’t participate in the 2017 safety grants. Their applications will be given priority.
The grants would be funded with state money. There’s no extraneous strings attached, nor any expected. State sponsorship of the program would end on July 1, 2025.
What You Can Do
Thank you for sharing your school’s safety needs with your legislators via WCRIS’ Advocacy Portal last year. Your messages were the catalyst for this bill, but we need you to take action again.
Please use WCRIS’ Advocacy Portal to send a message to your legislators by Monday, Feb. 5 at noon, requesting that they support SB-911 and AB-1001.
Our deadline is only one week from today. Please also share the link to the Advocacy Portal in your school’s newsletter or social media channels.
Instructions on how to identify and write to your lawmakers are in the portal.
What’s Next
SB-911 and AB-1001 will be scheduled for hearings in front of the Senate and Assembly Education Committees. Your messages will expedite the process and will strengthen WCRIS’ testimony.
WCRIS applauds Sens. Jesse James (R – Altoona); Julian Bradley (R – Franklin); and Dan Feyen (R – Fond du Lac) and Reps. Scott Allen (R – Waukesha); David Armstrong (R – Rice Lake); Elijah Behnke (R – Oconto); Barbara Dittrich (R – Oconomowoc); James Edming (R – Glen Flora); Joy Goeben (R – Hobart); Rick Gundrum (R – Slinger); Nik Rettinger (R – Mukwonago); Chuck Wichgers (R – Muskego); and Janel Brandtjen (R – Menomonee Falls) for their commitment to protecting our schools.
If any of the above lawmakers are your local legislators, please thank them for their support of school safety using WCRIS’ Advocacy Portal.
To find your legislators, enter your address here. There’s also a link to search for your legislators in the Advocacy Portal.
WCRIS saw your need for safety improvements at your schools and never stopped advocating for you. We’re proud to have this bill in play, but we’re not done yet.
With your help, let’s get this school safety grant program on the governor’s desk.
WCRIS will continue fighting – and keep you updated – every step of the way.
