WEMTA Alert: Public Hearing this WEDNESDAY on Common School Fund Bill!

A public hearing on Senate Bill 713 has been scheduled by the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection for this Wednesday, January 31 starting at 9:30 a.m. in room 201 Southeast of the State Capitol. Senator Stroebel, the chair of the committee, is also the lead author of SB 713, along with the Vice-chair of the committee, Senator David Craig (R-Big Bend).

We know this is short notice, but it is very important to have a good turnout in opposition to this bill, which would end the requirement for Common School Fund dollars to be used for school libraries. It would also end the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands Trust Fund Loan program, which supports schools, public libraries, technical colleges and local governments.

If you can make it to the public hearing, please let a member of WEMTA’s legislative committee know by emailing legislative@wemta.org. We will be on hand the day of the public hearing and can help you with logistics. If you are unable to present testimony at the hearing you can just stop by and fill out a hearing slip and register in opposition and leave. It only takes a few minutes!

If you can’t make the public hearing, you can still submit written comments to the members of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection.

When drafting your testimony, please:

1.   Include your name and contact information

2.   Address it to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection and Cc your own State Senator if they are not a member of the Committee.

3.   Clearly state your ask—i.e. Please oppose Senate Bill 713

4.   If you are attending in person, please bring copies of your written testimony (7-10 copies)

Here are some talking points you can use:

·                     Common School Fund stakeholders want to maintain the current structure that has been working well since the founding of our State.

·                     Over the past 10 years, the BCPL State Trust Fund Loan program has invested over $1 billion in communities throughout Wisconsin. Earnings from these loans are deposited into the Common School Fund. Ending the BCPL loan program would eliminate this important economic development funding from our communities and eliminate a major source of revenue for the Common School Fund. 

·                     With school districts across the state facing increased budget constraints, distributions from the Common School Fund are often the only dollars available for school libraries to purchase informational materials including books, newspapers and periodicals, web-based resources, and computer hardware and software. This bill would remove the requirement that the Common School Fund be used for libraries, thus ending the only dedicated source of school library funding in Wisconsin. 

·                     The bill also gives the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) more authority to invest BCPL trust fund dollars. According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if SWIB had been managing the Common School Fund dollars in the same way they manage their other investments during the financial crash of 2008, the Common School Fund would have suffered a devastating loss of between $195 million and $290 million. No funding would have been available for school libraries for several years following a loss of that magnitude. 

·        It is also important to note that while proponents say that SWIB would be able to get higher returns, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says that it is unlikely that SWIB would be able to do any better than BCPL because they would need to adhere to the constitutional and statutory requirements of the trust fund. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau issued a memo that stated “under the constraints of the trust funds, it would be reasonable to assume that SWIB would not take on significantly more risk than BCPL, if any, in investment of the funds.” According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, SWIB would “be required to manage the trust funds prudently, and be subject to the same constitutional and statutory constraints as the BCPL.”

How to Contact Your Legislators:

The first step in contacting your legislator is knowing who your legislator is. The easiest way to do this is the tool found on the Legislature’s home page, at http://legis.wisconsin.gov. In the right-hand side of that page is a link that says Find My Legislators!  Type your address in the box below that link to get the names of your state representative and senator.

·                     Phone.  You may leave a message for your legislator’s Capitol office or indicate your position on legislation through the toll free Legislative Hotline, at 1-800-362-9472.

·                     Email. The email addresses of members of the Wisconsin Legislature all have the same format. For members of the Assembly, the form is Rep.Jones@legis.wisconsin.gov; for members of the Senate, the form is Sen.Adams@legis.wisconsin.gov. 

Governor Walker Highlights Investments in K-12 Education During State of the State

Governor Walker delivered his annual State of the State address this afternoon. Throughout the speech, he highlighted many of his accomplishments over the past eight years since taking office. “Eight years ago, things were not very good in our state. There were double-digit tax increases, billion-dollar budget deficits, and record job losses,” said Walker.

He spent a significant amount of time talking about his investments in K-12 education and the UW System Tuition Freeze. He also called on the Legislature to pass legislation increasing funding to rural and low-revenue school districts, and outlined plans to expand Broadband using television white space technology. 

“We will build off of our historic investments into K-12 education,” Walker told the joint session of the Legislature. “Looking ahead, we need to continue to help rural schools keep more money in the classroom. Many of these schools have unique needs related to transportation and to the size of the district. I want to ensure educational excellence everywhere.”

Walker concluded by laying out his “Ambitious Agenda” for 2018, which includes: welfare reform; a $20 million Wisconsin Career Creator program at UW; a Small Business Plan; a $50 million Rural Economic Development Fund; Broadband expansion; juvenile justice reform; a new $100 child tax credit; and a Health Care Stability Plan that includes passing legislation related to protecting people with pre-existing conditions, a re-insurance program for the individual insurance market and a permanent SeniorCare waiver.

ALERT: Ask you legislator to oppose Senate Bill 713/Assembly Bill 857!

Senator Stroebel (R-Saukville) and Representative Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) formally introduced Senate Bill 713/Assembly Bill 857 today, which would end the Common School Fund as we know it and end the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) loan program that benefits schools, towns, villages, technical colleges, CESAs and public library systems. 

The following legislators signed on in support of this bill:  Senators Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and David Craig (R-Big Bend)  and Representatives Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), Rob Brooks (R-Saukville), Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg), John Macco (R-De Pere), Cody Horlacher (R-Mukwonago), and Ron Tusler (R- Harrison).

It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection and the Assembly Committee on State Affairs. 

Senate Bill 713/Assembly Bill 857:

•  Eliminates the requirement that schools spend Common School Fund disbursements on instructional materials, library books or school library computers/software. Schools would be able to spend CSF funds on any items they would like and those items would not need to be housed in the school library

• Eliminates BCPL’s authority to make loans. The interest on these loans currently goes into the Common School Fund. 

• Under current law, the BCPL can delegate some investment authority to the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), but SWIB can only invest in fixed income accounts. The bill would remove this restriction and allow SWIB to invest state trust fund dollars using their typical investment strategy.

Contact your state representative and state senator TODAY and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 713/Assembly Bill 857!

Here are some things you can say:

• Common School Fund stakeholders were not consulted in the development of this legislation, and we do not support these changes. We want to maintain the current structure that has been working well since the founding of our State in 1848.. 

• Over the past 10 years, the BCPL State Trust Fund Loan program has invested over $1 billion in communities throughout Wisconsin. Earnings from these loans are deposited into the Common School Fund. Ending the BCPL loan program would eliminate this important economic development funding from our communities and eliminate a major source of revenue for the Common School Fund. 

• With school districts across the state facing increased budget constraints, distributions from the Common School Fund are often the only dollars available for school libraries to purchase informational materials including books, newspapers and periodicals, web-based resources, and computer hardware and software. This bill would remove the requirement that the Common School Fund be used for libraries, putting school library funding in jeopardy. 

• The bill also gives the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) more authority to invest BCPL trust fund dollars. According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if SWIB had been managing the Common School Fund dollars during the financial crash of 2008, it would have suffered a devastating loss of between $195 million and $290 million. No funding would have been available for school libraries for several years following a loss of that magnitude. 

How to Contact Your Legislators:

The first step in contacting your legislator is knowing who your legislator is. The easiest way to do this is the tool found on the Legislature’s home page, at http://legis.wisconsin.gov. In the right-hand side of that page is a link that says Find My Legislators!  Type your address in the box below that link to get the names of your state representative and senator.

• Phone.  You may leave a message for your legislator’s Capitol office or indicate your position on legislation through the toll free Legislative Hotline, at 1-800-362-9472.

• Email. The email addresses of members of the Wisconsin Legislature all have the same format. For members of the Assembly, the form is Rep.Jones@legis.wisconsin.gov; for members of the Senate, the form is Sen.Adams@legis.wisconsin.gov.