Wisconsin Assembly rolls out K-12 plan, only to hit roadblock in Senate

MADISON - Assembly leaders unveiled an education plan Tuesday that they said would put more money into classrooms and cut property taxes, but the idea was immediately rebuffed by their fellow Republicans in the Senate.

It was the latest sign that work on the state budget is stalled, even though Republicans enjoy complete control of state government. 

"I'm willing to negotiate at any time, any place, anywhere," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said at a news conference. 

But there was no evidence that would happen anytime soon. 

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Minutes before Vos and two dozen of his Assembly colleagues convened their news conference, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) issued a statement saying his caucus would stick with the plan proposed this spring by Gov. Scott Walker. 

"The Assembly package that was endorsed today is simply not the direction that this budget is headed,” Fitzgerald's statement said.

At a stop in Wisconsin Dells, Walker also took a dim view of the Assembly plan because it would put less money toward schools than he wants and allow property taxes to be higher than he wants.

"That goes at odds with what our top two priorities are," he told reporters. "So what my hope is in the end we’ll get a budget that’s closer to where we’re at."

The Assembly Republican education plan is aimed at helping about 200 frugal districts that have been given tighter revenue caps than other districts under the state's school funding formula. Backers of the plan argue it is unfair to give those districts less authority to raise money just because they have been tight with their finances in the past.

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“They’re locked into a funding formula from 20-plus years ago," said Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R-Fond du Lac), the chairman of the Assembly Education Committee. "That is a huge issue.”

The plan would allow all districts to raise at least $9,800 per student, helping schools in places like Chilton and New Holstein that are able to raise less than $9,200 per student under the current formula.

That would translate into about $92 million in increased property taxes, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

In all, the Assembly plan would provide about $70 million less in state school funding than Walker's plan would. 

Taxes on a median-valued home would drop $10 next year under the Assembly plan, from $2,852 to $2,842. But Walker has promised to keep them below $2,831, the level they were at when he was re-elected in 2014. 

The Assembly education plan would also: 

• Give schools $125 per ninth grader to provide them with a laptop, tablet or other electronic device.
• Require school referendums to be held at the same time as regular spring and fall elections, except in cases of when they were needed because of damage caused by fires or natural disasters.
• Drop a proposal by Walker to require schools to have their employees pay at least 12% of their health insurance costs. Assembly Republicans said they did not want to dictate how schools have to find savings on their health insurance plans. 

The Senate and Assembly also remain far apart on funding roads. The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee was unable to meet Tuesday because of the numerous differences among Republicans. 

Leaders in both houses hope to reach enough consensus to have the committee meet on Thursday, even if it is to take up lower-profile parts of the budget. 

If they are unable to meet by then, Fitzgerald this week said he would have to consider taking the budget away from the committee and having the Senate work on its own fiscal plan. 

Vos said he would not favor taking that option. 

"There is absolutely no reason to make threats," Vos said. "I'm not going to make threats. If they want to do that, that would be really unfortunate."

For his part, Walker said he believed lawmakers could complete the budget around the time the new fiscal year starts on July 1. If the budget isn't done on time, state funding will continue at current levels until a new budget is approved. 

"I still have confidence the Assembly and Senate can get things done," Walker said. 

Patrick Marley and Lillian Price reported from Madison. Jason Stein reported from Wisconsin Dells.