Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - State schools superintendent Tony Evers is seeking $1.4 billion more — a 10% increase — in funding for Wisconsin schools as he challenges Gov. Scott Walker's bid for a third term.

Evers, wants to bring funding back to levels not seen in Wisconsin's 421 public school districts since the mid-1990s, a Department of Public Instruction spokesman said Friday.

The $15.4 billion two-year budget request comes as state agencies are submitting their spending plans to Walker for approval. Walker will consider the requests while crafting the next two-year state budget.

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Evers' plan comes as he is locked in a tight race with Walker, who has recently dubbed himself "the education governor" while he competes with the state schools chief.

Evers' plan for the 2019-'21 state budget includes a $339.8 million increase the first year and a $1.1 billion increase the second year.

Included is a $606.1 million increase in funding for special education programs, which would bring funding for such services to $900 million by 2021.

"School districts have a legal obligation to kids with disabilities and they are required to provide those services," Evers said in July about the increase. "That, in turn, puts pressure on the rest of the school budget. It's time to change that momentum."

Evers also is seeking a $58 million increase in funding for mental health services and an additional $40 million for bilingual-bicultural programs.

The budget request also seeks $20 million in funding to create grants for after-school programs and $2.5 million to allow schools to cover driver's education training for students who can't afford it.

An additional $12.5 million would go toward restoring state funding for a program known as the Milwaukee Math Partnership, which was cut in Walker's first state budget, DPI spokesman Tom McCarthy said.

Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for the Evers campaign, did not say how Evers would pay for the increase if elected governor, but indicated he would make education funding a priority.

“Budgets are about priorities. If we can find $4.5 billion for a foreign corporation, we can make the investments needed in our students,” Cudaback said, referring to incentives passed for Foxconn to build $10 billion worth of facilities in Wisconsin. “Tony’s priority is to fully fund our schools which can be done without increasing property taxes or forcing over a million taxpayers to go to referenda to pick up the tab. Tony is prepared to make tough decisions as governor and will do whatever is necessary to ensure we’re doing what’s best for our kids.”

Walker, a Republican, and Evers, the only Democrat leading a major state agency, have been at odds for years over how much funding to provide schools and where to spend it.

In the current state budget, Walker adopted much of Evers' budget request, which included $649 million in new funding — a plan similar to requests that had been rejected by Walker previously.

Walker spokesman Brian Reisinger didn't release details of the governor's plans for school spending in the 2019-'21 state budget, but signaled that he also would continue to make K-12 education spending a priority.

"Scott Walker made record actual-dollar investments in our schools, the most in state history, in what Tony Evers himself called a 'pro-kid budget,' " Reisinger said, referring to Evers' remarks when the current budget was passed. "He will continue to make historic investments in schools without raising taxes on hard-working families and seniors to do it.”

Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.