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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Five Wisconsin school districts released a joint letter urging state lawmakers to reconsider a bipartisan deal which would, among other policies, provide $617 million in additional special education funding to school districts across the state.
The districts include the Green Bay Area Public School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, the Racine Unified School District, the Madison Metropolitan School District, and the Kenosha Unified School District.
“We urge the Governor and the Legislature to return to the table to address the continued underfunding of special education,” they wrote. “Failure to approve a bipartisan plan will result in real harm, not just for students with disabilities, but for all public school students statewide.”
The bill failed in special session Wednesday night 18-15.
State Sen. Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay voted against the bill arguing it would create a $3 billion deficit in the next state budget.
Republicans believe the bill became a political football.
The five districts argue while the bill is not perfect, it solves important problems in the here and now. They write, “These solutions are, by design, a compromise. They do not fix Wisconsin’s long-standing, broken school-funding system. But they do provide desperately needed resources to help public schools continue meeting the needs of students, families, and communities across the state.”
It’s unclear what could come next, if more negotiations could be held to make a bill more amenable to both sides or if this where the proposal ends. Regardless, voters will likely hear about the proposal during the upcoming midterm campaigns.
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