Joint Finance Committee Schedules Budget Vote; Still No Final Plan for K-12

The Joint Finance Committee will meet for the first time since June on Thursday, August 24 to resume work on the state budget.  They plan to vote on the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of Natural Resources, State Public Defender, Department of Revenue and Department of Corrections.

That leaves K-12 education and transportation funding for a future vote.  The Department of Public Instruction sent a letter to the Joint Finance Committee on August 7 outlining important timelines for school funding. DPI says that the state budget would need to be signed into law by August 31 in order for DPI to make sparsity payments to schools and by October 3 for DPI to to run the October 15 General Aid Certification. 

Some rural schools have warned that they may have to resort to borrowing if aid payments aren't made on time. Other districts say the budget delay has led them to delay staffing or purchasing decisions.

Governor Walker stated earlier this week that he hopes to have the budget finalized by the end of summer, which he says is September 22. 

Once the Joint Finance Committee finishes work on the budget, it goes to the State Assembly and Senate for approval.