Report: Wisconsin schools could lose $2.3 billion in pandemic funds under Republican budget -— 6/10/21

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Wisconsin’s K-12 schools could lose out on $2.3 billion in pandemic stimulus funds unless Republican budget writers allocate more state funds directly to education, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. 

That’s an increase from the $1.5 billion in federal funding that the U.S. Department of Education previously warned Wisconsin leaders that they could lose under the current Republican budget. 

The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee last month voted to allocate $128 million in new K-12 funding while sending $350 million to the state’s budget stabilization fund, which can be tapped for various purposes. Lawmakers said the stabilization dollars would “maintain education funding stability in the future,” Riley Vetterkind reports. But the U.S. Department of Education says those dollars would not count toward a minimum education investment needed to draw $1.5 billion from the latest COVID-19 relief package — leaving Wisconsin short of needed threshold.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau, meanwhile, said Wisconsin could miss out on an additional $784.4 million for schools under other federal stimulus packages, Vetterkind reports.

Top stories

The Wisconsin State Capitol is seen on June 11, 2020. Credit: Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch

State could miss out on $2.3 billion in K-12 funding with GOP budget — Wisconsin State Journal 

Last April Wisconsin unemployment rate was over 14%. Now, the rate is down and job openings are seemingly everywhere. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  

Wisconsin lawmakers pass bill that would end extra $300 in unemployment benefits. Evers ‘can’t imagine’ signing it. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

Which groups are still dying of COVID in the U.S.? — The New York Times 

Democrat Jim Doyle and Republican Scott Walker team up for PSA to encourage COVID-19 vaccines — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

UW-Madison epidemiologist Malia Jones named as Academic Staff Excellence award recipient — Cap Times 

Baraboo council eliminates COVID-19 precautions — Baraboo News Republic 

Here are places you can get vaccinated in Milwaukee — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service 

Quotable

“We are excited this PSA came together. It’s a good reminder that COVID-19 is not a political issue, and we really do have broad agreement.”

UW Health chief quality officer Jeff Pothof, speaking about a video in which former Wisconsin governors Jim Doyle, a Democrat, and Scott Walker, a Republican, urged Wisconsinites to get vaccinated

Data to note

Here’s a look at the Department of Health Services’ vaccine dashboard, which showed Thursday that 48.8% of Wisconsinites have received at least one vaccine dose, including 83.7% of those ages 65 and older. Meanwhile, 43.6% of Wisconsinites are fully vaccinated, including 79.9% of those older than 65. Racial disparities persist in distributing vaccines. The shares of Black, Hispanic and Native American residents to receive a dose remain below that of white residents.

On Thursday, the state DHS reported a seven-day average of 125 new daily infections, continuing a long-term downward trend in new cases. The state also reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the full toll to 7,200. 

Here is the DHS’ visualization of new COVID-19 deaths, which have fluctuated in recent weeks. 

Find a vaccine site near you

DHS and the federal government have partnered with Vaccine Finder to help Wisconsinites find vaccinations. Vaccinations are often by appointment, but providers are increasingly offering walk-in options. In addition, people seeking COVID-19 shots can text their ZIP code to 438829 to find nearby vaccine providers.  

COVID-19 fact-checking

Not sure if something you heard about COVID-19 is true? FactCheck.org offers this page full of explainers — and debunking of common distortions — about the disease to help you sort out fact from fiction. 

Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin COVID-19 Update may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.

Report: Wisconsin schools could lose $2.3 billion in pandemic funds under Republican budget -— 6/10/21 is a post from WisconsinWatch.org, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.