Racine Sun

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is coming down on the side of advocates pushing for greater investment in education as part of the new state budget.

As part of his statewide “Doing the Right Thing” listening tour, the governor recently joined approximately 150 people at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's STEM Innovation Center who were pushing for greater State investment in education.

Evers also took to social media on the topic.

“Budgets are about priorities, and that's why building our next biennial budget begins—as it always does for me—with doing what’s best for our kids,” he said in a recent Twitter post. “Our next budget will invest in getting our kids, educators, and schools the support and resources they need to succeed.”

The gathering represented the listening tour’s third overall session, and the issue of how the funds included in the new two-year budget should be spent stood at the top of the agenda.

Evers also spent considerable time addressing issues that ranged from health care to the economy and environment, a recent report from the Green Bay Press Gazette said.

Those who wanted greater investment from the State in the areas of early education, K-12 and college held firm in pushing their agenda, the report said. Budget suggestions intended to smooth the path for the funding ranged from tax revenue limits for public schools to funding early child care and more funding for special needs programs, including special education reimbursements.

Attendees pushing for change also made it clear they want the free statewide school meals that were introduced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to become a permanent staple after the program expired earlier this year.

As the session progressed, Evers made it known that he was open to much of what was laid out on the education front.

“We don't expect our school districts to have to go to referendum every two years and roll the dice as to whether they have enough money,” he said during the listening session, quoted by the Gazette.