Wisconsin Governor partially vetoes budget, boosts school funding for 40 years.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers Boosts Funding for Public Schools for Centuries to Come

On July 5, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made a historic move by partially vetoing the new state budget, ensuring increased funding for public schools for the next four centuries.

Evers, a former state education secretary and teacher, who is known for his dedication to education, signed off on the $99 billion spending plan after making 51 amendments through partial vetoes. These amendments included reducing the Republican-led income tax cut from $3.5 billion to $175 million and eliminating lower rates for the highest earning brackets.

One of the most significant changes made by Evers was to the funding increase for K–12 public schools. While the Republican-controlled state Legislature had proposed a $325 per student increase for the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 school years, Evers modified it to ensure that Wisconsin schools receive this funding boost every year until 2425.

This increase in school funding marks the largest ever in statewide revenue limit authority since the imposition of revenue limits on K–12 schools in 1993–94.

“We have gotten to work these last four years making smart, strategic investments—and our economy shows it,” said Evers in a statement. “So, we began this biennial budget process with historic opportunity, and with it, historic responsibility—not to be careless or reckless, but to save where we can and stay well within our means while still investing in needs that have long been neglected to protect the future we are working hard to build together.”

“But even as I am glad the Legislature joined me in making critical investments in several key areas, the fact remains that this budget, while now improved through strategic vetoes, remains imperfect and incomplete,” the governor added, before accusing GOP lawmakers in the state Legislature of having “failed to meet this historic moment.”

While some Republicans expressed disappointment with Evers’ decision and labeled it as a “liberal” spending agenda, advocates like Dan Rossmiller from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards appreciated the partial vetoes, considering them a step in the right direction.

Despite the positive response, Rossmiller expressed concerns about whether the increased funding would keep up with soaring inflation for some districts.