Posted on 06/21/2013 4:39:00 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Madison – Senate Republicans passed the state budget by a one-vote margin just after midnight Friday as the state schools superintendent raised concerns a little-noticed provision could lead to a flood of students attending private schools at taxpayer expense.
The budget passed 17-16, with Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) joining all Democrats in opposing it. The budget now goes to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who can alter it using his vast line-item veto powers.
The budget would cut income taxes by $651 million and create a new statewide program that would allow children who meet income thresholds to use taxpayer money to attend private schools, including religious schools.
The voucher plan was developed weeks ago and would bolster existing programs in Milwaukee and eastern Racine County, but outside of those areas would be limited to 500 students this fall and 1,000 students in future years.
Republicans who run the Assembly adopted an amendment Wednesday that would allow schools participating in the Milwaukee and Racine programs to accept students from anywhere in the state without it counting toward the student cap. Democrats said Thursday they had determined those schools could set up new, satellite institutions anywhere in the state that would not be subject to the cap, potentially rendering it meaningless.
Schools Superintendent Tony Evers said late Thursday that attorneys are reviewing the issue but that he is worried about it.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Wisconsin Budget passes in the wee hours of the morning.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
—— The budget would cut income taxes by $651 million and create a new statewide program that would allow children who meet income thresholds to use taxpayer money to attend private schools, including religious schools. -——
THANK YOU WISCONSIN!
Next to abortion, educational freedom is the most important public policy issue of our day. And that includes our impending bankruptcy.
Democrats, of course, in their zest to support the teachers union prefer that students remain is substandard schools and receive a lousy education.
The budget now goes to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who can alter it using his vast line-item veto powers... would cut income taxes by $651 million and create a new statewide program that would allow children who meet income thresholds to use taxpayer money to attend private schools, including religious schools.I love that spin, "vast line-item veto powers."
It will be interesting to see what Scott Walker does with his “frankenveto” pen. Will he change anything? We’ll have to wait and see.
School funding. Provide public schools with $150 more per student in state aid and local property taxes this fall and another $150 increase in 2014-’15, for a total of $289 million over two years. However, because of the $50 one-time per-pupil bump to many districts in this past school year, the proposed $150 per pupil funding increase in 2013-’14 would represent a $100 per-pupil increase this fall over current spending.
Health care. Shift nearly 90,000 people from the BadgerCare Plus program into a new online insurance marketplace, where the participants are supposed to find replacement health coverage. A detailed analysis of the plan by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau found that many of the people now receiving BadgerCare Plus coverage through Medicaid likely would not buy the more expensive insurance through the marketplaces.
In doing so, Republicans are passing up a federal offer to cover 84,700 more people in Medicaid than their plan and receive enough additional federal tax money over the next two years to pad the state budget by $119 million even after covering the cost of those additional people, according to the Fiscal Bureau.
Walker has said he wants fewer people on government coverage and is concerned that the federal government won’t keep its commitment to the higher Medicaid funds over the long term.
Residency. Repeal all residency rules for teachers and other workers for local units of government with one exception: Local officials could still require police, fire or emergency personnel to live within 15 miles of the boundaries of their jurisdictions.
Bail bonds. Allow for-profit bail bondsmen in Wisconsin for the first time since 1979, with judges able to opt out of the system. The program would be limited for the first five years to Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine and Dane counties.
State property. Allow the Walker administration to sell state assets including parking garages, university dormitories and roads.
Seems like the alternative analysis would be the notion that the public school system would be relieved to have the financial pressure for facilities and classroom body-counts reduced by the citizen's choices to use alternative educational resouces.
The State Indoctrination Center Czars are really shaking in their jackboots, now!
It seems many are interested in protecting systems and
monopolies,not people.
Keeping the status quo is easier than
innovating. If vouchers are going to “siphon money from government schools” why isn’t the same true in higher education? I don’t hear state college professors running around crying about Pell grant(”government dollars”)
money “unfairly” being used to attend St.Thomas,Gustavus,St.Johns (MN) or other private religiously affiliated schools.
What happened to the magic wall between “church and state” there?
Since government doesn’t create wealth and only consumes it, how can it “give parents back” what was always theirs anyway?
Part of the beauty of being an American is choices.Look in the yellow pages. Thirty-one flavors or thirty thousand attorneys to choose from. Variety is a good thing.
Some may choose for proximity,some for class size,some for shared belief systems,or a class for gifted
mathematicians.Why is choice and competition considered good in everything EXCEPT education?
Walker has once again proven “It can be done”!
Dale Shultz “used” to represent my area but has slipped over to being a demodummie in repubs clothing. His wife is a public school administrator and more than likely sleeping alone from now on was not of interest to Shultz as he cast his negative vote.
You already have choices. You can go to a private school or a church-assocated school or a state-supported school. And you can home school. I'm curious how much the voucher will be for and how much of a state subsidy people will get.
Sen. Dale Schultz has been a thorn in the side of the Republicans for years. He represents a heavily Dem district in WI, and he has scuttled many reforms in the past. But, we can’t seem to get rid of him. Anyone else his district elects will surely be even more leftist. At least the R next to his name gives us the majority in the Senate (and the chairmanships of the committees). This time by 2 votes, instead of last time’s 1 vote where he really did damage.
“Residency. Repeal all residency rules for teachers and other workers for local units of government with one exception: Local officials could still require police, fire or emergency personnel to live within 15 miles of the boundaries of their jurisdictions.”
I have friends in Milwaukee county who are VERY happy about this.
“State property. Allow the Walker administration to sell state assets including parking garages, university dormitories and roads.”
I’m for this. We SHOULD be liquidating things that COST US TAX DOLLARS and add no value to our bottom line. In Dane County ALONE he should sell off hundreds if not thousands of acres of SWAMPLAND that Ex-County Exec Kathleen Falk bought to stop from development. IT WAS LAND NO ONE WANTED TO DEVELOP TO BEGIN WITH!
Grrrr!
But, we’re getting somewhere, at least. And watching Liberal heads explode in this town is just fun, fun, FUN! :)
Dale Schultz is an idiot. Trust me, we do NOT claim him as our own, LOL!
Sorry. I didn’t mean, ‘idiot.’ I meant, ‘attention whore.’ *SMIRK*
Glad to give you something the smile about this AM. :^)
I’ve got some time this morning...catching up! :)
So you prefer tuition tax credits instead,correct?
(letting people keep their own money)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.