Governor-elect and current state superintendent Tony Evers intends to fulfill his increased education budget despite receiving GOP backlash last week.
Evers called for a 10 percent increase of state funding, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald doubt that this will be possible without creating a simultaneous substantial tax increase.
“It literally cannot be accomplished without either taking from some to give to another or a massive tax increase,” Vos said in a statement.
However, the governor-elect insists that his budget increase of $1.4 billion will be plausible and property-tax-neutral.
In September, both Evers and Gov. Scott Walker released their state budget plans for 2019-’21. At the time, the two candidates each promised that the state would cover two-thirds of the cost for K-12 education.
Gov. Walker claimed that Evers’ proposal was plagiarized off his own during campaign debates. However, according to data from the Department of Public Instruction, the last time the budget was raised this drastically was in 1995, before Walker’s terms as governor.
“Our students deserve our support as they prepare to inherit this great state,” Evers said in the initial press release disclosing the budget plan. “As parents, fellow educators, taxpayers, and citizens of Wisconsin, I ask for your support during the 2019-21 biennial budget process so that every child gets a shot at a great Wisconsin education.”
