Budget Committee Votes to Transfer Read to Lead Council to Department of Children and Families

The Joint Finance Committee voted 14-2 today to transfer the Read to Lead  Council from the Governor’s office to the Department of Children and Families. However, the Committee also voted to delete the Governor’s Read to lead Development Fund and its two associated appropriations effective June 30, 2017. The Council will still be able to use money from the annual literacy improvement appropriation of $23,600 to provide grants  to any person or school board for support of a literacy or early childhood development program, and will be allowed to distribute the remaining $109,000 in the Read to Lead Development Fund appropriations during 2016-17. 

The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) prepared an issue paper for the Committee to consider that raised concerns about funding levels for the Read to Lead Development Fund. The original intent was for members of the Council to raise money for the Fund. However, state ethics and lobby laws make this nearly impossible, so the Committee voted to delete the Fund.  As a result, the Read to Lead Council will only receive an estimated $23,600 GPR starting in 2017.

The Read to Lead Development Council is currently made up of 22 members, including representatives from the Wisconsin State Reading Association, the Wisconsin Reading Coalition, the International Dyslexia Association, Wisconsin Literacy Inc. and the Wisconsin Library Association, which makes recommendations to the Governor and the State Superintendent as to grants awarded under the Read to Lead Development Fund and the Literacy Improvement Aids Appropriation.  Due to the Committee’s vote today, the Department of Children and Families Secretary will now chair the Council and appoint public members to the Council.

Legislative Fiscal Bureau Paper on the Read to Lead Development Council