Winnebago County schools to receive $4,666,231 in additional funding this year

[from Gov. Doyle's office...]

Winnebago County schools will receive an additional $4,666,231 this academic year as a result of Governor Doyle's budget and vetoes he made to Republican education cuts, a new state report shows.

The report, issued by the Wisconsin Budget Office, demonstrates the estimated additional state aid that will flow to each school district as a result of line-item vetoes the Governor made of Republican education cuts when he signed the budget into law.

"This report is further evidence that the budget I signed into law spared schools from devastating cuts, giving them modest increases to keep pace with inflation," Governor Doyle said. "This additional funding will not only help strengthen our schools, but it also helps take the burden off of property taxpayers this year."

Last year, Governor Doyle proposed restoring the state's historic commitment to fund two-thirds of the cost of schools. Republicans in the Legislature attacked this proposal and cut his schools budget by about $330 million. Governor Doyle was able to use his veto power to restore $330 million to schools, restoring the two-thirds funding level and reversing the Republican cuts. Doing so ensured that schools receive a cost of living increase this year. In addition, Governor Doyle's vetoes will benefit property taxpayers through a $124 million increase in the school levy tax credit.

County school funding increases for the 2006-2007 academic year directly resulting from the Governor's vetoes include:

• MENASHA $ 623,705
• NEENAH $ 1,463,045
• OMRO $ 224,447
• OSHKOSH AREA $ 1,999,921
• WINNECONNE COMMUNITY $ 355,113

Total $ 4,666,231

Restoring this funding was also critical to the Governor's property tax freeze, which he signed into law as part of the budget. Putting additional state resources into education while keeping overall revenue limits in place helped reduce the burden on property taxpayers. Combined with tight limits on spending by local governments, the plan assured that the typical homeowner saw only a very small increase in property taxes, and many homeowners' bills actually went down.

A recent report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance found that under Governor Doyle's property tax freeze, Wisconsin saw the lowest overall property tax increase in nine years.

Added state aid will allow schools to increase their spending on average by a modest 3.2 percent this year, helping them keep pace with rising costs at a time of skyrocketing gas and heating bills. A report by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards found that had the Republican education cuts gone into effect, more than 4,700 teaching positions in Wisconsin would have been eliminated.

To view an interactive map detailing funding increases county by county, district by district, click here.

To view the report from the Wisconsin Budget Office, click here.