Madison, WI – On Monday, DPI Superintendent Jill Underly released the DPI budget proposing an additional $3 billion in funding. Rep. Allen released the following statement in response:
“Under Dr. Jill Underly’s leadership, student test scores have decreased and the achievement gap between black and white students has increased. Instead of owning up to this disastrous record and seeking to make needed improvements, Dr. Underly has decided to lower the standards of test scores and now seeks to blame her poor performance on a lack of funding.
“Lack of funding is not the problem. In the 2023-2025 budget, the State increased the low-revenue ceiling to $11,000 per student while also increasing per pupil spending by $325 per student each year. This led to an increase of over $500 million in general school aids. We added more money for reading initiatives, more money for mental health, more money for school library aids, and the list goes on. Overall state-funded per pupil sending in Wisconsin is $8,587. This is the highest it has ever been.
“We also increased special education funding by $100 million to the highest dollar level ever in state history. The reality is that the number of special education students has doubled since the 1970s and the cost to provide special education has increased by 600%. Instead of finding ways to address these challenges, Dr. Underly wants the state to spend seemingly endless amounts of taxpayer money.
“Under Dr. Underly’s proposal, the state surplus would be nearly eliminated overnight with no plan for how to fund DPI’s increased costs moving forward. A better solution is the local school referendum. These referendums keep the power and choice for how and when to spend tax dollars with people in local communities rather than creating a one size fits all approach.
“Money is not the solution. Dr. Underly needs to take ownership of her failures.”
