GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As lawmakers in Madison continue to negotiate the 2025-27 state budget, one local superintendent is speaking out about her worries for funding for public schools.
Vicki Bayer, superintendent of the Green Bay Area Public School District, wrote a letter to members of the Joint Finance Committee and Northeast Wisconsin’s senators and representatives “to express [her] concerns regarding what is being shared in the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s papers on school funding.”
The letter, which was released by the district Wednesday, highlights three main points:
- Primary special education aid is at risk of being overlooked
- School levy tax credit is not true school funding
- There is no increased predictability in public school funding
Bayer asked lawmakers to fund primary special education aid at 60%; reject using the School Levy Tax Credit as a substitute for school support; and protect public school districts and communities by ensuring state funding mechanisms result in real dollars for public school districts.
Last week, state budget negotiations stalled between Gov. Tony Evers and the Republicans and Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee. Bayer’s letter comes as the JFC is continuing to chip away at creating the budget proposal, with the committee set to meet Thursday to take up numerous education-related funding items.
