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Weekly E-Update

Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to my latest e-update. Here is a summary from the past week as your State Representative. 

As always, previous updates are available on our website and social media. 

I typically hold office hours on the second Friday of every month and would be happy to meet with you! You can sign up for our office hours here.

Please contact my office with any questions or concerns.

Forward together,

Rep. Robyn Vining

May Is Mental Health Awareness Month!

Hello! May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it's Mother's Day, and Senator LaTonya Johnson and I are hosting a maternal health roundtable next week! We will discuss maternal health, including mental health, and challenges parents are facing. We posted this on social media and registration surprised us and was full within a day. Wow! This seems like something women really want to talk about!

Note: Due to popular demand, we are looking to add a second roundtable in the evening soon. Let us know if you are interested!
Congratulating the 2024 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year on National Teacher Appreciation Day!

Biggest and surprise congratulations to Ms. Rachel Kumferman, a school social worker at McKinley Elementary School, for being recognized as a 2024 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year! Dr. Jill Underly, the State Superintendent, came to Tosa for the presentation! We are so lucky to have Rachel in the district, caring for our kids! She is a social worker at McKinley, and does additional work as a homelessness liaison for the school district. I could tell while sharing a gym full of cheering children for the announcement—she is loved!!!

And—Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!!! What a fun day to visit a school!

National Principal Appreciation Day
Did you know we are celebrating Principal Appreciation day this week? Yay! I’m so glad I was able to stop by McKinley Elementary this week with their beloved principal Dr. Jean Hoffmann! I heard during the Teacher of the Year ceremony that she “likes to challenge people out of their comfort zones to grow”—I appreciated that reminder and was extra conscious of it myself this week. Thank you, Dr. Hoffman, for working so hard and loving our community’s kids!

Planting Trees at Wauwatosa Montessori School for Arbor Day!

I was so excited to be invited to Arbor Day in Wauwatosa last Friday! The city donates a tree each year and this year it was donated to Wauwatosa Schools at the Montessori school.

Children kindergarten through 8th grade created the entire program themselves, with music from the orchestra and band, research on Arbor Day, poetry (right? I believe I heard poetry!), kindergarten artwork, and a tree + pansy planting. I was delighted to join a kindergartener to shovel the first bit of healthy soil around Wauwatosa’s newest tree!

Weekly State Budget Update

TUESDAY–The Joint Committee on Finance approved a motion that removes 545 of Governor Tony Evers’ proposals from the 2023-2025 budget, and not only blocked the ability of Democrats to reintroduce these items, but also silenced the Democrats from being able to talk about them. 

What that means is that Republicans threw out Governor Evers’ budget in its entirety (including most of my budget requests), and went to a “base budget” that looks more like a Scott Walker budget than a Tony Evers budget. 

Governor Evers responded, and you can see that tweet here.
Included in the 545 items removed by Republicans are all of Governor Evers’ investments in the mental and behavioral well-being of our children. This is terrible. As the Ranking Member on the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder, I issued a press release that  you can read below:

In the Year of Mental Health,

Republicans Have Failed Our Families

MADISON – The Joint Committee on Finance approved a motion today that removes 545 of Governor Tony Evers’ proposals from the 2023-2025 budget, and not only blocked the ability of Democrats to reintroduce these items, but also silenced the Democrats from being able to talk about them. In response, Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa), the Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder Prevention, issued the following statement:

"Governor Tony Evers declared 2023 the Year of Mental Health stating, ‘The state of mental health in Wisconsin is a quiet, burgeoning crisis that I believe will have catastrophic consequences for generations if we don’t treat it with the urgency it requires. Mental and behavioral health is as much a health issue as it is an economic one: it affects kids in the classroom; it affects workers being able to join and stay in our workforce; it affects whether folks are able to stay in safe housing or have economic security; it affects folks’ ability to take care of and provide for their family and loved ones.’ Governor Evers then proposed critical mental health investments in his proposed budget.”

“Today, Republicans on the Joint Committee on Finance slashed every single one of Governor Evers’ investments in the mental health of our youth. Further, Republicans blocked Democrats on the Joint Committee on Finance from being able to reintroduce any of these items for the remainder of the budget process, and–silenced Democrats from being able to talk about them in committee.”

“At a time when Wisconsinites’ mental health across the state is in crisis—all ages, stages, economic statuses, and geographic locations—we need all sides of the aisle to come together and resolve to pass significant mental health investments. At a time when we have both a massive state surplus, and a tremendous rainy day fund, the Wisconsin legislature can’t afford to turn its back on the people–Wisconsinites’ mental health is too important. Wisconsinites are too important.”

“Now is the time to make critical investments to improve mental health for all Wisconsinites. We must continue this critical work as a legislature to invest in mental healthcare, so that when we move forward as a state, we move forward together.”

Read the full press release here.

You can follow the Joint Finance Committee Democrats on Twitter here for regular updates.

Children’s Mental Health in the News

You can read or listen to this report from WUWM Radio from our visit to Children’s Wisconsin last week here. The Governor and I toured the new Yabuki Mental Health Tower to see the expansion of the walk-in program, and other mental health initiatives.

At a time when mental health across the state is in crisis—all ages, stages, economic statuses, and geographic locations—we need all sides of the aisle to come together and resolve to pass significant mental health investments. At a time when we have a massive state surplus, and a huge rainy day fund, the Wisconsin legislature can’t afford to turn its back on Wisconsinites—Wisconsinites' mental health is too important. Wisconsinites are too important.

Governor Evers kicked off Mental Health Awareness Month by highlighting the historic investments proposed in his budget to address the mental health and well-being of all Wisconsinites.

Governor Tony Evers:

“With our state’s historic surplus, we have a historic opportunity and responsibility to make critical investments to address the pressing challenges facing our state. These past few years have been especially difficult for our kids, families, and folks across Wisconsin, and the mental and behavioral health challenges facing our state today will have disastrous consequences for generations.”

Read the Governor’s full press release here. One day after this release, Republicans cut all youth mental health and school-based mental health investments from the budget (all of them!), and they are forbidding Democrats from reintroducing or debating these and over 500 items from the very popular budget during the committee process.

Childcare Is a Workforce Infrastructure Issue

A huge thank you to everyone who advocated for Child Care Counts, which provides high-quality childcare for over one-hundred-thousand kids in Wisconsin. The petition is now closed and I’ve been reading through your quotes. In fact, I quoted 5 of you in my speech on the Assembly Floor last week.

We all need to focus on expanding childcare, saving Child Care Counts in the state budget, and valuing women and the hurdles we face to work. Childcare is a workforce infrastructure issue!

Happy Small Business Week!

Happy Small Business Week! I didn’t go to a small business, but a small business came to me! Thank heavens that when I arrived home from Madison around 7pm that a bag of food had arrived. Shout out to this woman-owned and locally-powered business The Real Good Life —I’ve got fresh cookies now cooling on my stove (and okay fine I also already ate the dough).

Every week is small business week in my family—we love so many small businesses, it’s a way of life! And as a small business creator myself, I’m sending lotsa love out to my small business community, too!

Shared Revenue Bill Introduced

Shared revenue is a program that provides tax dollars to cities, villages, towns, and counties to help pay for local services like police and fire protection. It is an important part of how the state assists communities across Wisconsin to fund needed services and provide property tax relief. 

Over the past few decades, shared revenue has remained stagnant, meaning less money is going to our local governments to fund local services like public safety, emergency medical services, and transportation. Meanwhile costs have increased, and new costs have been added (like cybersecurity). 

Earlier this week, Republicans introduced Assembly Bill 245, an 133 page bill that overhauls how shared revenue works in Wisconsin. A public hearing was held on Thursday, and Mayor McBride of Wauwatosa testified with serious concerns about not passing a Shared Revenue fix, and also concerns about the bill in its current state. 

While there may be changes to this bill before it reaches the Governor’s desk, Governor Evers has indicated that he will veto it unless more resources are given to our struggling municipalities. You can see Governor Evers' message here

I will continue to keep you updated as this bill moves through the legislature.

Happy International Firefighter Day!

Happy International Firefighter’s Day—I was honored to visit Tosa Fire.

My gratitude to our Wauwatosa Firefighters and paramedics for their work as first responders—they are critical to public health and public safety. Hearing from them today was very helpful—especially as we debate the state budget and the shared revenue legislation.

*We also reached out to West Allis fire a few times but didn’t hear back. We know everyone is very busy—I’d love to visit anytime!

News from the District
This is a new section in the Forward Fridays–I want to celebrate exciting happenings in the district! Please reach out anytime with suggested features. We do our best to follow the news, but you may know something we don’t!

The Jerry Awards-Congrats, Tosa West Players!

Wauwatosa APPSE Teams At National Championships!

Congratulations to our Wauwatosa American Public Policy Special Emphasis (APPSE) teams from both Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West for qualifying to compete at the We the People National Championships in Washington, D.C.! Wauwatosa West placed 5th–what an incredible accomplishment! 

Congratulations Former Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley!

Former Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley received the Arthur B. Kohasky Leadership Award last week from the Wauwatosa Public Library, recgonizing her work as both mayor and community volunteer in Wauwatosa. Thank you for everything you have done and continue doing for our city!

Welcome Dr. Tarrynce Robinson to the West Allis-Milwaukee School District!

The West Allis-West Milwaukee Board of Education completed its search for a new Superintendent and is pleased to announce that Dr. Tarrynce Robinson has been selected as the district's next Superintendent effective on July 1, 2023. Good luck, Dr. Robinson!

Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Award Winners

Exciting news from the prestigious 2023 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Student Excellence and Initiative, Teacher Fellowship and Principal Leadership Awards!

Vivienne Andersen

Audrey Caitlin

Olivia Close

Fabian Chacon Morales

Ms. Rachel Kumferman, a school social worker at McKinley Elementary in Wauwatosa, was honored with the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Principal Leadership award, which includes a $6,000 grant for McKinley as well! 

Mr. Joe Russell, Washington Elementary School Principal, will receive the Principal Leadership award for setting high standards for instruction, achievement, and character. Washington Elementary will also receive a $6,000 grant!

West Allis Teacher Wins the 2023 O. Lynn Bolton Scholarship from Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers

Ashley Petrovick demonstrated academic prowess and participation in Spanish-speaking, Latino and Hispanic cultural events. The scholarship goes towards her trip to Guatemala and Belize next month–enjoy Ashley!!

Destination Imagination!

8 teams from Wauwatosa’s elementary and middle schools competed in Green Bay, and 6 different teams received medals including:

Missing Pieces (Lincoln Elementary School)

Jiggly West Stuff, Inc. (Roosevelt Elementary School)

What’s Our Team Name Again? (Roosevelt Elementary School)

Busy Bees (Washington Elementary School)

Look Who’s Laughing Now (Longfellow Middle School)

Longfellow’s Engineering Team (Longfellow Middle School)

Congratulations, and good luck in Kansas City later this month!

Wauwatosa School District Receives Fifth Consecutive Best Communities for Music Education Award

For the fifth consecutive year, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) has awarded the Wauwatosa School District with its Best Communities for Music Education Award!

Senator Agard’s Grass Roots Tour in Wauwatosa

Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Agard is coming to Wauwatosa next Wednesday as part of her Grass Roots Tour! Senator Agard is visiting communities across the state to meet with local leaders, community members, and stakeholders to discuss the positive impacts of marijuana legalization. You can learn more and RSVP at the Facebook link here.

Wednesday, May 10

4pm-5pm

Ray’s Growler Gallery, 8930 W North Ave, Wauwatosa

May Day

On Monday we honored the fight, the struggle, and the hard-earned wins for fair wages, fair working conditions, and  the dignity of work and workers, and workers’ rights. Happy International Workers’ Day!

May we continue to press on for a more fair and just world for all.

Bills I Co-Sponsored This Week

Recognizing Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month: May 1st marks the beginning of AANHPI Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements, contributions, and history of AANHPI communities and understand the challenges they face. (LRB-2931)

Refundable income tax credit for bicycle purchases: This bill helps provide equity for all children, especially those in poverty, to have access to bicycles and healthy neighborhoods. (LRB-2796)

Proclaiming May 3rd, 2023 as National Bike to School Day: Biking to school helps children incorporate regular physical exercise into their daily activities, and helps promote healthy living for all Wisconsin kids. (LRB-2719)

Forward together,

Rep. Robyn Vining

 

Contact Us: 

State Capitol
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708 

PH: (608) 266-9180
TF: (888) 534-0014

Email: 
Rep.Vining@legis.wi.gov 
Web: www.vining.assembly.wi.gov 

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