Education has been an important issue in our state’s budget these past two sessions. I believe parents are often better suited to make decisions for their children’s educational welfare than is the government, but our public school system makes education accessible to children from all walks of life. We asked our public schools to make some tough sacrifices last biennium, and I do not believe our local school districts are sufficiently funded in the current budget proposal, Assembly Bill 40. As schools look to make more cuts, and taxpayers are increasingly on the line for referendums, I joined some of my fellow Republican colleagues in the Assembly to call on the Joint Finance Committee to reconsider K-12 per pupil funding in the Governor’s budget proposal.

I am confident that we can find a way to increase per pupil funding while protecting our state’s property taxpayers. This is a commitment to Wisconsin’s children and to Wisconsin’s future. I attended public school in the 67th Assembly District as a child, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues to reinvest in our local schools.

I have heard from many constituents about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). While this is a standard that was adopted by the Wisconsin Department Public of Instruction – which is also responsible for their implementation – the Senate and Assembly education committees will be holding a joint hearing on CCSS on Wednesday, May 22 at 10:00a.m. The public is welcome to attend, but the committee will only be hearing from invited testimony. You can watch hearings and floor sessions live or recorded on WisconsinEye.

The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) continues to hold executive sessions to discuss agency specific items in the budget. These executive sessions will determine what the budget looks like when it comes to the Assembly floor. This past week, JFC held its third executive session, and will be holding two additional sessions on Monday and Wednesday next week. The links provide papers on which items will be discussed each day. JFC’s executive sessions are also aired on WisconsinEye.

The Assembly will be in session next week on Tuesday, May 14. We will be taking up a number of bills and resolutions, and, as always, I encourage you to view the sessions live or afterwards on WisconsinEye. To preview the legislation to be discussed, you can use the InSession feature on the Legislature’s home page.