MILWAUKEE (AP) - A growing number of Wisconsin school districts are asking to raise taxes to cover salaries, utilities and other basic costs, and voters are approving their requests at record rates.
Some Republican lawmakers believe the referenda have given local residents greater control over spending, but education officials and many Democrats say the system has made schools less equitable at the expense of students in rural areas. They also say the need for repeated referenda has made it hard for schools and families to plan and created anxiety and instability in some communities.
Voters approved 23 of the 35 referenda Wisconsin school districts placed on April 1 ballots to raise money for operating costs. They also approved 15 of 21 proposals to borrow money for construction, technology and other improvements. The approval rates were much higher than in previous elections, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
The Oakfield School District sought and won its seventh referendum since the state instituted revenue limits in 1994. Under the system, the only way to exceed caps on state aid and property taxes is with a public vote.
When voters in the rural district about an hour northwest of Milwaukee rejected a 2013 proposal, leaders predicted the schools would quickly run through their reserves and close without a successful referenda this year. Instead, residents approved a six-year, $6.6 million referendum in a 911-405 vote.
Superintendent Sue Green said the hope is that by the time the referendum expires, state lawmakers will have done something to help small rural districts like hers.
“We have so many districts that are struggling right now, we should have done something this session,” said Rep. Mandy Wright, a Wausau Democrat and former teacher who has served on a task force on rural schools.
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MILWAUKEE (AP) - State Rep. Duey Stroebel ended a week of speculation Saturday by announcing he’ll run for Congress, becoming the second Republican to enter the race for the seat being vacated by longtime GOP congressman Tom Petri.
Stroebel, 54, told The Associated Press he’s in the race because he wants to bring strong conservative principles to Washington.
“I’m running for Congress to create a stronger future for my children and all of Wisconsin,” he said. “I’m committed to running a strong, well-financed campaign based on conservative principles that put power back into the hands of the people.”
Stroebel, a father of eight, said he was born and raised in the district, which has helped him keep in close touch with the needs of local constituents.
He’d been considering a run for several days. He said his decision became easier Friday, when Petri said he planned to announce his retirement Monday.
State Sen. Glenn Grothman was already in the race before Petri’s announcement. Two other Republicans who have said they’re considering a run are state Sen. Joe Leibham and John Hiller, who has worked with Gov. Scott Walker.
Stroebel, who owns a company that manages and develops real estate, has served in the Assembly since 2011. Among the bills he authored were ones that would limit the hours and days that voters could cast in-person absentee ballots; allow jail guards to strip-search anyone who’d be incarcerated with other prisoners; and base pension payments to public workers in the Wisconsin Retirement System on the average of their last five years’ salary instead of three.
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LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) - Residents in all 72 Wisconsin counties will get a chance to weigh in Monday on issues ranging from whether to allow the hunting of tundra swans to whether hunters should be allowed to venture onto private land to retrieve a hunting dog.
The annual meetings of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a group that advises the state Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Board on policy changes, will be held Monday at 7 p.m. Locations are listed online.
Attendees will be given a questionnaire seeking their opinions on a number of proposals and issues, and they will elect county delegates.
The proposal involving hunting tundra swans is shaping up to be one of the more controversial issues.
The Madison Audubon Society Board and other conservation groups worry that hunters will mistakenly shoot once-endangered trumpeter swans instead of tundra swans. They also say a hunt would disrupt the spring bird-watching season, The Capital Times reported.
Marc Schultz, the chairman of WCC La Crosse County, didn’t offer an opinion except to say tundra swans might not be easy to hunt because they tend to congregate in areas closed to hunting.
“They’re a very intelligent bird,” Schultz told the La Crosse Tribune.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A Madison police sergeant has been named the department’s next police chief, replacing Chief Noble Wray, who retired in September after 29 years on the force.
Sgt. Mike Koval was named to the position Friday by the city’s Police and Fire Commission.
Koval has been with the department since 1983. He has also worked as an FBI agent and hostage negotiator.
The 55-year-old begins his new duties April 21.
He says one of his priorities will be to reform the image of Madison police. He says he wants officers to be seen as guardians of the public rather than as militarized warriors.
He says he also wants to use the position to attract good candidates to become Madison police officers.
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