Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legislative Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Area superintendents brief board on legislative activity; special-education funding remains a priority
Summary
Area superintendents and district leaders reported to the board that state legislators are taking up education-related bills and that special-education funding remains a prominent concern.
District administrators told the board that area superintendents met with their state legislators in Sheboygan and received updates on committee assignments and early legislation. Scott reported all three of the district’s legislators attended the meeting and that education- and workforce-related committees were forming.
Scott said legislators Lindy Bridal, Joe Sheehan and Devin Lemay are involved in education-related committees. He relayed that Sheehan is pushing legislation focused on ensuring children are fed and that multiple bills are beginning to be circulated. Scott said Act 20 and special-education funding were recurring topics.
On special-education funding Scott said: "Special education funding continues to be a hot topic. That's one of those drums that's continually beat. Again, we're funded at 33, 30 4 percent or so. We would like to see that percentage significantly higher. So, we continue that unified message." He described a unified push across parties for increased funding and noted universities and other institutions are offering Act 20 training for prospective teachers, which still requires local certification.
Board members asked whether legislators seemed to be listening about special-education funding. Scott replied: "It seems like everybody's listening to that and it's real easy to become fragmented as you, request various things from the state from a funding perspective but this is a unified message on both sides of the aisle. So again, I remain cautiously optimistic."
