Legislative liaison flags Assembly Bill 377 and DPI actions; board discusses budget implications
Summary
Commissioner Tao reported an introduced Assembly Bill 377 proposing English-only government use and mentioned that the Department of Public Instruction joined other states in litigation about federal funding; board members discussed budget shortfalls for public education and encouraged questions to administration.
Commissioner Tao, serving as the board’s legislative liaison, briefed the board on recent state and federal developments that he said could affect the district.
Tao reported an introduced bill identified as Assembly Bill 377 that ‘‘would make English the English language in the state of Wisconsin’’ and said it would ‘‘mandate all government entities and coding to speak’’ English. He also reported that the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) had joined other states ‘‘on a collective multi-state lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education’’ regarding Title funding, and said the outcome could affect the Title funds the district receives. His remarks included express concern about the state budget and the ways it could fall short for public education.
A board member summarized broader budget concerns and encouraged colleagues to contact district administrators—identified in the meeting as Gary Piper Thompson and Dr. Ellworthy—if they had questions about budget details or talking points. The board did not take formal action on the liaison report; members treated the presentation as informational.
Tao’s remarks were brief and sometimes nontechnical; the board’s subsequent discussion focused on ensuring community messaging about the district’s fiscal position and directing district staff to prepare materials for the outreach presentation planned later in the meeting.
