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Walker's Budget Cuts $800 Million From Public Education

MPS Layoff Notices Will Go Out This Week

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Walker's Budget Cuts $800 Million From Public Education
MPS Layoff Notices Will Go Out This Week
The budget that Gov. Scott Walker signed into law on Sunday cuts $800 million from public education, but in an interview with 12 News on Monday morning, the governor insisted that school districts will benefit from this budget."The tools we gave them allow them to more than offset, and in some cases, actually net more revenue than they would have otherwise with the state budget. Now, those are changes you may agree or disagree with how we got there, but in the end, they're going fair better. It's going to allow us to put more resources into training, and it's going to provide for better education," Walker said.Tough decisions are being made in districts across the state, but the effects may be felt in two local districts more than anywhere else -- most of all in Milwaukee. MPS faces an $84 million budget hit in the new state budget.District officials confirmed for 12 News that 988 full-time positions will be lost this week.Administrators are working right now to gauge the number of vacant positions and upcoming retirements to determine the exact number of layoffs.MPS isn't the only district dealing with budget fallout."We're projected in our budget right now to lose about 125 staff members," Racine Unified School District CFO David Hazen said.About half of the jobs lost in Racine Unified Schools will be through retirements. Sixty or so staff members will be laid off because of the budget, but no teacher layoffs are planned.The Racine School District struck a deal with its teachers earlier this year, gaining concessions and, in effect, saving teacher jobs, but now administrators there said this new budget has presented a new obstacle.Racine joins Milwaukee in the state budget as the two districts where school choice will be expanded."Financially, we will lose some of our resources as students choose choice, or as parents choose choice," Hazen said.But school choice advocates said it's not about dollars and cents; it's about opportunities and quality, and that Racine is a perfect place for choice expansion."You've got a strong network of private schools and a real desire on behalf of parents to have more options outside of Racine Unified School District," said Jim Bender of School Choice Wisconsin.School Choice Wisconsin says further expansion of choice is something it expected to see happen gradually in other cities.In the meantime, MPS is readying the layoff notices. Hundreds of them will go out this week before the new budget year starts Friday.

The budget that Gov. Scott Walker signed into law on Sunday cuts $800 million from public education, but in an interview with 12 News on Monday morning, the governor insisted that school districts will benefit from this budget.

"The tools we gave them allow them to more than offset, and in some cases, actually net more revenue than they would have otherwise with the state budget. Now, those are changes you may agree or disagree with how we got there, but in the end, they're going fair better. It's going to allow us to put more resources into training, and it's going to provide for better education," Walker said.

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Tough decisions are being made in districts across the state, but the effects may be felt in two local districts more than anywhere else -- most of all in Milwaukee. MPS faces an $84 million budget hit in the new state budget.

District officials confirmed for 12 News that 988 full-time positions will be lost this week.

Administrators are working right now to gauge the number of vacant positions and upcoming retirements to determine the exact number of layoffs.

MPS isn't the only district dealing with budget fallout.

"We're projected in our budget right now to lose about 125 staff members," Racine Unified School District CFO David Hazen said.

About half of the jobs lost in Racine Unified Schools will be through retirements. Sixty or so staff members will be laid off because of the budget, but no teacher layoffs are planned.

The Racine School District struck a deal with its teachers earlier this year, gaining concessions and, in effect, saving teacher jobs, but now administrators there said this new budget has presented a new obstacle.

Racine joins Milwaukee in the state budget as the two districts where school choice will be expanded.

"Financially, we will lose some of our resources as students choose choice, or as parents choose choice," Hazen said.

But school choice advocates said it's not about dollars and cents; it's about opportunities and quality, and that Racine is a perfect place for choice expansion.

"You've got a strong network of private schools and a real desire on behalf of parents to have more options outside of Racine Unified School District," said Jim Bender of School Choice Wisconsin.

School Choice Wisconsin says further expansion of choice is something it expected to see happen gradually in other cities.

In the meantime, MPS is readying the layoff notices. Hundreds of them will go out this week before the new budget year starts Friday.