Both Walker, Evers pledge two-thirds education funding

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Both Gov. Scott Walker and challenger Tony Evers are pledging to restore two-thirds funding of public school costs.

Republican Walker and Evers, a Democrat who is State Superintendent of Schools, have been sparring this week on many issues.

Increasing funding to two-thirds would be a huge development for area school districts and the taxpayers who support them.

The Hurley School Board will act Monday on a budget of $8,167,011 for 2018-’19, supported by a tax levy of $3,215,135.

State aid for Hurley this week was announced at $2,529,726.

If Hurley received aid for two-thirds of its $8 million budget, it would amount to about $5.4 million, or more than double the current amount. That would lower the rate of support needed from taxpayers to way under $1 million.

Walker has also pledged to boost state funding for town roads, and Evers said he would join a coalition of states focused on fighting climate change.

Less than three weeks from the Nov. 6 election, the race is said to be very close.

Some estimates say two-thirds funding for school districts would cost $1.7 billion over a two-year state budget cycle. How that would be accomplished hasn’t been determined.

Evers said he favors rolling back a tax break for manufacturers and farmers, is open to increasing the fuel tax to pay for roads and wants to raise limits on how much school districts can increase property tax levies.

On Monday, Evers charged that Walker “released no plan; he just said the words ‘two-thirds.’”