MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker’s promise of more money for public schools drew a standing ovation from school administrators Friday, a sharp contrast from two years ago when many educators joined thousands converging in Madison to protest his plan to eliminate most public workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Walker and the Republican-led Legislature pushed that bill through at the same time he cut $800 million in funding for public education, angering teachers and school officials and leading to a recall election Walker won last year.
This year, the Republican governor brought good news to the state education conference, saying the budget plan he releases Feb. 20 will increase aid to schools, although he said later that it wouldn’t replace all that was lost.
“This is not about backfilling things,” he told reporters.
Walker said schools have been able to save money because the collective bargaining law also required teachers to contribute more toward their pension and health care benefits. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance reported in November that those cuts in benefits and limiting union-negotiated raises to the rate of inflation offset about two-thirds of the reductions in school revenue in the 2011-2012 academic year.
Walker also indicated to reporters that he would not lift the lid on revenue limits, which determine how much state aid and property tax income school districts can spend. Walker said he was concerned about moves that might cause property taxes to increase.
The state’s budget picture improved Thursday, with new estimates showing Wisconsin will enter the two-year cycle with a $484 million surplus thanks to higher tax collections and lower expenses than projected. Walker and Republican legislative leaders have said they want to tap that money for an income tax cut, but Democrats are pushing for it to be used for a combination of income tax cuts, more money for schools and restoring cuts in other areas made in 2011 when the budget faced a $3.6 billion shortfall.
Walker told school board members, business officials and administrators at the Friday meeting that his budget will include incentive payments for high-performing school districts and those showing rapid improvement. Teachers could receive some money as bonuses for good work, and low-performing schools could receive incentives for coming up with plans that turn things around, he said.
A spokeswoman for the state’s teachers union did not immediately return a message seeking comment on his remarks.
Other state officials expressed uncertainty about whether teachers would actually receive bonuses.
Republican Sen. Luther Olsen, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said bonuses are a great idea, but districts may need the money for other things.
“If they have to spend it on insurance or heating and all the basics, that’s where it’s going to go,” said Olsen, who attended the speech. “I don’t know if you really want to tell schools how to spend their money.”
State Superintendent Tony Evers, who was also there, expressed similar concerns.
“I’m not sure how districts would avail themselves of that option,” he said.
Evers and Olsen also said they were concerned with the new state report cards being used as the measurement of schools’ success.
“We have to be somewhat cautious here,” Evers said.
The report cards, released for the first time this school year, are not a mature system yet, Evers said.
“The big issue is whether our report cards are a true indication of a failing school or not,” Olsen said. “We’ve got to make sure it’s a true measure of a school.”