U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited Wisconsin schoolchildren at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday as part of a celebration of National School Choice Week.  It was a historic moment: this was the first time that a sitting U.S. president or vice president visited our statehouse.

School choice was born right here in Wisconsin 30 years ago.  Back then, the program served just 300 pupils at seven schools; today, more than 40,000 low- and middle-income families have the opportunity to decide for themselves what school best serves their children's needs.

I have always supported investing in our children's futures.  In the 2019-21 state budget (which I voted for, and which Governor Tony Evers signed into law, but which legislative Democrats voted against), I voted to supply a record number of actual dollars to our public K-12 classrooms.  We provided $604 in new funding per pupil, which was the same increase that the Governor requested; that's more than $12,000 in new funding for a classroom of 20 students.  I voted to increase special education funding by 22 percent, which is exactly the same amount that then-Superintendent Evers proposed before he became Governor; Democrats voted against this.  I voted to double current funding for student mental health service grants.  In addition, I have voted to sustain and grow our school choice program because the results speak for themselves: choice students are more likely to graduate from high school and college and to achieve reading and math proficiency.

As always, I encourage you to follow my updates on social media or contact my office directly with your questions.  Have a great weekend!

It's That Time of Year

The federal Internal Revenue Service and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue are ready to process individual income tax returns for Tax Year 2019.  Individuals and families may file their 2019 taxes any time until April 15th, but I definitely recommend that you get started as early as you can.

Did you know that you can e-file your Wisconsin income taxes at no charge to you?  Many people prefer to pay a tax professional to help them prepare and file their income taxes, and many other people prefer to use one of the numerous do-it-yourself software products on the market, but another option is to file your state income taxes directly via the Department of Revenue's e-file website.

In addition, many taxpayers qualify for tax preparation assistance available through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program (click here for participating locations) or the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program (click here for participating locations).  The VITA program is for people whose incomes are under approximately $56,000, people with disabilities and people with limited English language skills; IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax preparation and e-filing.  The TCE program can assist taxpayers of all ages, but they specialize in questions regarding pensions, retirement income and other issues commonly encountered by seniors.

Office of Representative Terry Katsma
State Capitol, Room 306 East
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708
(608) 266-0656
Rep.Katsma@legis.wisconsin.gov|  |