Following his 2014 re-election, Governor Walker confirmed two education priorities: expanding voucher programs and repealing the Common Core Standards. In 2013-2014, 500 students were on state vouchers, but this year the number jumped to 1000. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction predicts the program will cost $7.4 million during the 2014-15 school year. Governor Walker’s spokesperson confirmed the Governor “wants to ensure there is capacity for expansion, so it may be a limited expansion.” Voucher increases are echoed by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who declared expanding “School Choice” a priority in the next session.
On the Common Core, Governor Walker’s main objection is the standards were not written by those in the state; he has stated, “Having high standards, but standards that are set by people here in … Wisconsin, not by people outside of the state would be a key part of [the next legislative session].”
Meanwhile, the state is partly through the inaugural year of a mandated teacher evaluation system, called Teacher Effectiveness, which combines teacher performance in the classroom as judged by principals with student academic achievement set as student performance goals. These goals can be tied to standardized tests or to other assessments. Each evaluation requires administrative time of between 8 and 12 hours.
Schools are paying attention to the next budget release. The 2011 Act 10, also called the “Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill,” which effectively stripped collective bargaining rights for teachers and the majority of public workers, was introduced to fix a projected 3.6 billion dollar deficit. That budget created the largest education budget to any state, taking 8.33% of per student funding. This year, Governor Walker will release his budget in January with a projected 1.8 billion to 2.2 billion deficit.