BCPL Commissioners Are Up for Re-Election + Secretary of State Candidate Preview

All of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) Commissioners--the Attorney General, State Treasurer and the Secretary of State-- are up for election in 2022. BCPL Commissioners oversee the Common School Fund, so these races are very important and will have an impact on school library funding. 

State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski is not seeking re-election and is instead running for a U.S. Senate seat, so the race for state treasurer is wide open and has a crowded field of candidates. Both Attorney General Josh Kaul and Secretary of State Doug La Follette are running for re-election and face challengers. 

Candidates are currently circulating nomination papers to get on the ballot. Nomination papers are due by June 1. 

If a primary is required for any of the races, it will be held August 9. The General Election will be held on November 8, 2022. 

We will be featuring the potential candidates over the next week, starting with the Secretary of State race today. 

Secretary of State Candidates

Doug La Follette (Incumbent, D-Madison)

Doug La Follette has been Secretary of State, and a BCPL Commissioner, since 1983. If re-elected, this will be his 12th term. 

Campaign Website: http://douglafollette.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sosdoug

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DougLaFollette 


Justin D. Schmidtka (R-Green Bay)

On his campaign website, Schmidtka says he is running to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission and to transfer election oversight to the Secretary of State's office. Schmidtka hosts the Badger State Resistance podcast. 

Campaign Website: https://justinforwi.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/schmidtkaforwisos

Twitter: N/A

Jay Schroeder (R-Neenah)

On his campaign website, Schroeder says he is running to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission and to transfer its duties to the Secretary of State's office. Schroeder previously ran for Secretary of State in 2018. 

Campaign Website: https://www.schroederforsecretaryofstate.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaySchroederWI

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JayForWisconsin

Dmitry Stefan Becker (R-New Berlin)

On his campaign's Facebook page, Becker says he wants to bring the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau under the leadership of the Secretary of State. Becker is a member of the National Guard. 

Campaign Website: N/A

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Becker4SecState/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmitrybecker

Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton)

On her campaign website, Loudenbeck says she is running to modernize the Office, to act as a check on the Wisconsin Elections Commission and to protect and maximize BCPL's assets. Loudenbeck is currently a Wisconsin State Representative. 

Campaign Website: https://www.voteamywi.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voteamywi

Twitter: https://twitter.com/voteamywi

Neil Harmon (Libertarian-West Allis)

Neil Harmon has worked in health care for 25 years. His key campaign issues include eliminating the personal income tax, term limits and eliminating the minimum mark-up law. 

Campaign Website: N/A

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonforSecretaryofState 

Twitter: N/A

Third Round of Federal Emergency Connectivity Funds Opens April 28

Schools and libraries will be able to apply for a third round of federal stimulus funds through the FCC's Emergency Connectivity Fund between April 28 and May 13. An estimated $1 billion in funding will be available. 

These funds can be used to cover the costs of eligible services and equipment that you plan to receive between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. 

Eligible purchases include: laptops, tablets, WiFi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connections for off-campus use by students and staff. 

FCC Opening Second Window for Emergency Connectivity Fund

The FCC has announced that a second application window for the Emergency Connectivity Fund will open on September 28 and close on October 13.  Emergency Connectivity Funds are available to schools and libraries who want to purchase laptops, tablets, WiFi hotspots,  modems, routers and broadband connections for off-campus use by students and staff. 

The first application window received funding requests totaling $5.1 billion. About $7.17 billion was appropriated for the fund by Congress. 

See the full FCC announcement here. 

FCC Releases One-Page Guide on Applying for Emergency Connectivity Funds

The FCC has released a helpful one-page guide that gives you all of the information you need to know in order to apply for the Emergency Connectivity Fund program, which was created by federal stimulus legislation to help schools and libraries purchase educational technology! The deadline to apply for these funds is August 13, 2021. 

View the guide here: https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/ecf_how_to_apply_overview_guide.pdf

Emergency Connectivity Fund Application Window Closing in 24 Days!

WEMTA is strongly encouraging all of our members to consider applying for Emergency Connectivity Funds available through the federal stimulus bill.  These funds are specifically meant to help schools and libraries support the remote learning needs for students and staff. Devices purchased through the program can be used off-campus! Schools have until August 13, 2021 to submit applications. 

How Much Funding is Available: $7.17 billion 

Who Can Apply: Schools, libraries, and consortia of schools and libraries that are eligible for support under the FCC's E-Rate program.

Eligible Purchases: Laptops and tablets; Wi-Fi hotspots; Modems; Routers; Devices that Combine Modems and Routers. 

Timeframe from Purchases: This round of funding covers eligible purchases made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

Application Deadline: August 13, 2021 

Where to Apply: https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/ 

Learn more: https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund-faqs 

Governor Evers Signs Budget Bill into Law

 The following items of interest to WEMTA are included in the budget bill:

Governor Evers signed the 2021-23 state budget bill into law on Thursday, July 8, 2021. He made 50 partial vetoes to the bill as passed by the Legislature before signing it. Most significantly, Governor Evers vetoed a proposed $550 million lapse from the general fund to the budget stabilization fund and called on the Legislature to work with him to instead use these funds to address immediate needs of Wisconsinites. He also announced that he will be investing more than $100 million in federal stimulus into K-12 schools. 

You can see the Governor's full veto message here. 

The following items of interest to WEMTA are included in the budget as signed into law. 

WISELearn: Reduce funding for WISELearn by $150,000 in 2021-22 and by $200,000 in 2022-23. 

Library Service Contracts: Increase funding for the library service contracts by $12,900 in 2021-22 and by $25,300 in 2022-23 to fully fund the costs of the contracts. The following organizations receive library service contracts: the Milwaukee Public Library; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library; and the Cooperative Children's Book Center.

Public Library System Aid: Increase public library system aid by $2.5 million in 2021-22 and by $4 million in 2022-23. 

Wisconsin Reading Corps:  Increase funding for Wisconsin Reading Corps by $300,000 in 2021-22 and by an additional $1.3 million in 2022-23.

Governor's Task Force on Broadband Releases Final Report

The Governor's Task Force on Broadband Access released its final report this week. WEMTA Legislative Chair Emily Dittmar was a member of the Task Force. Thank you, Emily, for your service! 

"All Wisconsinites should have broadband sufficient to successfully participate in society, including but not limited to, health, economic, and educational opportunities," states the Task Force. 

According to the FCC, about 394,000 Wisconsinites currently lack access to broadband meeting the minimum speed goals of 25/3 Mbps. These estimates are likely underreported due to weaknesses in the current FCC mapping process. A study performed by BroadbandNow estimates that 670,592 Wisconsinites lack access to 25/3 broadband speeds. It is further estimated that about 10% of Wisconsin households do not have any type of computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, e-reader) in the home, and over 500,000 households do not have a desktop or laptop computer.  

The report makes the following recommendations.

Speed Goals and Timelines

• By 2025, all homes and businesses have access to broadband speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, and 50% have access to download speeds of 1 Gbps. Currently, only 17.7% of Wisconsin has access to 1 Gbps service speed.

• By 2028, all homes and business have access to broadband speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. 

• By 2031, all homes and businesses have access to broadband speeds of 100 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload, and 90% have access to downloads speeds of 1 Gbps.

Top Policy Recommendations, include:

• Increasing public-private partnerships that make use of public infrastructure to reach underserved areas by private providers. The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) Trust Fund Loan program is mentioned as an example of public funding for broadband infrastructure. 

• Increase Broadband Expansion Grant funding. A sub-recommendation lists continuing TEACH IT Funding.

• Collect internet access data from providers at the granular home and business level.

• Increase broadband consumer protections and price transparency.
  
  
• Establish a State Internet Assistance Program to address the issue of affordability. Currently, only 44% of Wisconsin residents have access to internet service at less than $60 per month. 

• Establish a statewide Digital Equity Fund run by a nonprofit to strengthen digital inclusion activities. 

• Create a statewide Digital Navigator to assist under-connected people in solving a wide-range of adoption issues. 

• Establish and support a coalition of willing, engaged broadband leaders to connect communities with providers, local and regional partners, planning and technical assistance opportunities, funding opportunities, and resources. 

• Create planning and implementation grants for regions and communities. 

More detailed recommendations can be found starting on page 23 of the report.