1. When will we know what the Governor is planning on doing with the state budget?
Evers will give a State of the State address on January 22, which will be televised live by Wisconsin Public Television. Governors typically use the speech to signal the top priorities that will be pursued in the two-year state budget he/she will introduce in February.
2. What will Gov. Evers do on vouchers?
Gov. Tony Evers is making the rounds to various interest groups and explaining his vision for the state, which will be evident in the two-year state budget he proposes to the Legislature next month. Glimpses of his agenda for education and vouchers can be gleaned from these speeches.
In a talk before the Greater Milwaukee Committee, which is a group of influential business and nonprofit leaders, on Monday January 14, Urban Milwaukee news service reported the following:
“As part of his education plan, Evers said he wouldn’t seek to eliminate the state’s voucher schools. ‘I would like them to have more transparency,’ said Evers in response to a question from voucher school advocate Dan Steininger.”
3. What would “more transparency” of voucher schools look like?
A story on WUWM public radio Monday, January 14 reported that:
“When asked last week what school choice proposals Evers had in store, his press office did not list any dramatic changes like phasing out vouchers. It said Evers would propose a requirement to show the cost of voucher programs on residents’ property tax bills. That’s something the cities most saturated with voucher schools, Milwaukee and Racine, are already doing on their own.”
4. What are the Governor’s funding plans for K-12 education?
On the campaign trail, and in public speeches since his election, Gov. Evers has said he will seek additional funding for education. He specifically pledged to have the state fund two-thirds of all education costs, which would reduce the amount funded by local property taxes. The formula was first funded under Gov. Tommy Thompson but has fallen away in subsequent years. Evers also told the Greater Milwaukee Committee:
“Moms that are Republican want their kids to have public schools just as much as Moms that are Democrats….for the first time ever [Republican Assembly Speaker] Robin Vos has agreed with me, two-thirds funding is important.”
5. What other plans does Gov. Evers have for education?
In Evers’ remarks to the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Urban Milwaukee reported that:
“He said the efforts of his administration would be broadly based and interconnected, but that one thing his administration would propose in its budget is ‘five star’ early childhood programming for the 53206 zip code. This area, located on Milwaukee’s near north side, has the highest incarceration rate of any Wisconsin zip code.”
6. How will anything on education get done with a Democratic Governor and a Republican-controlled legislature?
The legislature has expressed willingness to work with the Governor on education issues. A starting point may be the recommendations from The Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding that was assembled by the Legislature last year. The Commission’s 16 members included nine legislators of both parties and seven individuals with leadership positions in education across the state, including two representatives from WCRIS schools.
Despite pressure from both pro-school choice and anti-school choice advocates, the commission steered clear of the voucher issue and focused on transportation aid and the general public school aids formulas and equations.
The commission issued its 20 recommendations earlier this month and Gov. Evers said it was a starting point with some ideas that may find their way into his budget. Most are focused on obscure state funding formulas and would not have a direct impact on private schools.
WCRIS will be monitoring the proposed state budget, and the education initiatives it includes and will be advocating for equity for private schools, students and parents.
7. How do you pronounce Gov. Evers name?
It ryhmes with weavers.
