Budget within grasp as governor announces tentative deal

MADISON, Wis (CIVIC MEDIA) – Wisconsin is closing in on a new, bipartisan state budget. Governor Tony Evers announced a tentative deal with Republican leaders this morning.

The deal includes $330 million for childcare, including money directly to providers as the pandemic-era Child Care Counts program winds now. It also includes $1.4 billion in new funding for K-12 schools.

“I declared 2025 the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin, which is why I have spent the last several months working with Republican leaders to ensure we have a pro-kid budget that invests in our kids at every age and every stage, from early childhood to K-12 schools to our higher education institutions,” Gov. Evers said in a release.

Despite a rumored cut, the Universities of Wisconsin would get $256 million over the next two years, plus $840 million for campus building projects.  Evers called it the largest boost to the state university system in nearly two decades.

The tentative plan also includes $1.3 billion in income tax cuts, mostly for the middle class. About 1.6 million people would see an average cut of $180 per year.

Which is popular. A recent Marquette Law School Poll found 65 percent of voters want at least half of the state’s $4 billion surplus used for tax cuts.

The Legislature’s budget committee meets at 9 a.m. today. The full state Legislature is expected to vote on the package tomorrow.