'Dumbest thing I've ever heard': Evers touts school funding as Democrats slam his surplus compromise with GOP
OAK CREEK, Wis. (CBS 58) -- With uncertainty over whether there are enough votes to pass the surplus compromise plan, Governor Evers on Wednesday hit back at members of his own party who criticized the agreement he reached with GOP leaders.
Evers took a tour at Meadowview Elementary Wednesday morning as part of his effort to promote a nearly $2 billion spending plan that would draw down most of Wisconsin's surplus. He had strong words for Democrats who accused him of being irresponsible.
The $1.8 billion plan would provide roughly $600 million for schools; a little more than $300 million would toward increasing special education payments, while another $300 million would go out as general aid, which would act as a form of property tax relief.
There would also be more than $850 million worth of rebate checks going out to taxpayers. That's on top of eliminating the state income tax on tips and overtime wages.
Several high-profile Democrats, including top Dems in the Senate and Assembly, as well as most of the Democrats running to replace Evers this fall, have criticized the plan.
They say it's either irresponsible to not put more of that money toward schools or they argue it would be better to wait and see if Democrats will win a majority in the Legislature this fall, eliminating any need to compromise in order to secure more education money.
A clearly frustrated Evers responded Wednesday, defending the compromise he reached with Republicans who currently control the Legislature.
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), an earlier frontrunner in the Democratic primary field, blasted the surplus plan Monday, saying, "This backroom deal is a payday loan taken out at the expense of our children, our infrastructure, our economy, and our future."
"For people in your own party calling this 'irresponsible' and a 'payday loan,' how do you take that?" CBS 58's A.J. Bayatpour asked.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Gov. Evers said. "You know, think about that. There are still several billion dollars left, and the trajectory of money coming into the state of Wisconsin is going up. So, the idea that somehow this is a loan? We don't loan money to our schools, we provide money because that's our job, and it's disappointing. We're gonna get this done. We're gonna get this done today."
Evers said he was confident there would be enough "yes" votes to pass the deal Wednesday. However, when asked specifically about the Senate, where at least one Democrat will need to vote "yes," Evers simply said he believed that vote is there, but added, "We'll see at the end of the day."
As the day progressed, Senate Democrats indicated they were united in opposing the surplus deal. State Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), the minority caucus chair, publicly feuded with Evers' communications director, Britt Cudaback, over the level of additional school funding in the deal.
Senate Democrats felt the K-12 investment was insufficient, since half of the funding acts primarily as property tax relief.
Dan Rossmiller, director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB), said districts across the state badly need the additional special education funding provided in the surplus deal.
"I'm gonna leave the politics to the politicians. I'm a school person; I'm gonna come at this from a school perspective," Rossmiller said. "We have school districts in crisis. We have school districts that have failed multiple times to pass referendums. They are undergoing drastic cuts."
Districts would also get a boost in general school aid, which Republicans sought as a part of the additional school funding. Under Wisconsin's complex school funding system, general aid increases act as a property tax cut, unless lawmakers agree to raise the property tax limit.
You can read the estimated funding increase for every Wisconsin school district in this Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo.