Here's why some school officials are slamming Evers for increasing school aid for 400 years

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- With the start of the school year right around the corner many districts are getting their finances in order.

That includes digesting Gov. Tony Evers’ surprise partial veto in the state budget to give schools the ability to collect an additional $325 per student each year for the next 400 years, a move that some school officials call unrealistic and misleading.

Earlier this month, Evers told CBS 58 it was a "small way to be certain schools will have the resources they need going forward for a long time…I'm glad I did it."

Tarik Hamdan, the chief financial officer at Kenosha Unified School District, said his concern is that a majority of the public didn't fully comprehend why Evers' school funding increase puts them in a financial pinch.

"I fear it could harm us,' Hamdan said. "[The public] saw, oh wow, this governor took care of schools for the next 400 years, we don't ever have to hear from them again when they don't have enough funding anymore. The truth is that is going to be reversed very shortly."

There are no guarantee schools will see that funding increase for a couple of reasons.

First, Republican lawmakers could sue to overturn Evers' veto or attempt to override it, which could be difficult since Republicans would have to rely on Democrats in the Assembly to help them.

Secondly, schools can only raise more money for each student through a combination of state aid and property taxes. That means lawmakers would have to set aside more money and school boards would have to decide whether to raise property taxes to secure an increase.

And third, the $325 funding increase would not cover the current pace of inflation. If lawmakers don't provide more state aid in the 2025-2027 state budget, districts may have to increase property taxes by an estimated $260 million in the first year and $520 million the second year, according to a memo by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Hamdan's concerns echoed sediments from other school districts who were not thrilled with the governor's action. Matthew Joynt, Superintendent of Schools, Mequon-Thiensville School District called the budget "one of the most inequitable biennial budgets approved to date."

"In a time when all school districts needed additional funding in response to record inflationary increases, our state policymakers, including the Governor of the state of Wisconsin, left many school districts on the outside looking in," Joynt said.

To keep up with inflation costs, Joynt said, their district would need an increase of $1,038 per student which "does NOT come close to covering the increased costs we must manage."

He added his district, and many others, are facing the unfortunate need to determine where they can reduce operating expenses and increase revenue streams.

"We are going to get to this breaking point where you turn back to your stakeholders and taxpayers and say, this is what we can offer with what we're funded and if you want to go above and beyond that your possibility talking about a referendum," Hamdan said.

In a tweet, Milwaukee school board member Missy Zombo responded to Evers' per pupil funding for 400 years by calling it "a PR stunt to distract you from how badly this budget fails our children and public education. It's insulting."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he wants to challenge Evers' veto and a conservative group also predicted it will face a lawsuit. In response, Evers said he wouldn't be surprised, but "I don't think they would be successful."

He noted how other governors, Republicans and Democrats, have also used their board veto powers for decades to make drastic changes in the state budget.