Press Release: ICYMI: Gov. Evers Celebrates Back-to-School Season with Visits to K-12 Schools Across the State

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 09/18/2024 07:00 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 18, 2024
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
ICYMI: Gov. Evers Celebrates Back-to-School Season with Visits to K-12 Schools Across the State
 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers earlier this week concluded his annual statewide K-12 back-to-school tour, welcoming educators, students, families, staff, and administrators back to school for the 2024-25 school year. Earlier this month, Gov. Evers sent a back-to-school video message to educators, administrators, and staff, which is available here. Additionally, to showcase his back-to-school travels with students and teachers across the state, the governor posted a recap video across his social media channels, which is available here.

“As a former science teacher, principal, superintendent, and state superintendent, I am beyond excited to be celebrating my 48th back-to-school season by visiting with Wisconsin students, educators, staff, and administrators across the state,” said Gov. Evers. “We’ve worked hard to invest in public education at every level, but as a state, we can and should do more. School districts shouldn’t have to go to referendum just to keep the doors open and lights on. This school year and beyond, as governor, I will continue fighting for our kids and schools every single day because what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state. Simple as that.”

On Tues., Sept. 3, Gov. Evers kicked off back-to-school season with a visit to South Division High School in Milwaukee, joining Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) traditional first-day-of-school bell-ringing event. During the visit, the governor greeted students and parents as they arrived for the first day of school. Afterward, the governor joined U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly, MPS Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan, and South Division High School Principal Jose Trejo, as well as other school and district officials, for a press conference to kick off the school year. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

Then, to continue his day welcoming students back to school, the governor visited Manz Elementary School in the Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) with ECASD Superintendent Michael Johnson, Manz Elementary School Principal Angela Funk, State Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire), and State Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick). The ECASD has a nontraditional first day of school for their elementary schools, where the school hosts an open house for students and families. During the visit, the governor was shown around the school by students finding their classrooms for the first time and visited with students, parents, educators, and staff. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

To conclude the day, the governor visited Superior Middle School in Superior. During the visit, the governor toured the school with School District of Superior Superintendent Dr. Amy Starzecki, Superior Middle School Principal Aaron Lieberz, and Superior Mayor Jim Paine, where they visited classrooms, talked with students, and stopped by the cafeteria. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Wed., Sept. 4, as a continuation of the governor’s back-to-school visits, the governor started his day visiting Lapham Elementary School in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). The governor joined Lapham Elementary School Principal Linda Zimmerman and MMSD Deputy Superintendent TJ McCray in welcoming students and families as they arrived for school. The governor then helped hand out breakfast and joined a kindergarten classroom for their morning meeting. Photos from the visit are available here and here.

Afterward, the governor continued his day with a visit to Jefferson Elementary School in the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD). During the visit, the governor met with OASD Superintendent Bryan Davis, Jefferson Elementary School Principal Amy Ashton, State Rep. Lori Palmeri (D-Oshkosh), and other school officials and went on a tour of the school, where they visited several classrooms, including a music class and gym class, answered questions from students, and visited the cafeteria. Photos from the visit are available here and here. 

The governor then visited Ben Franklin Junior High School in the Stevens Point Area Public School District with Ben Franklin Junior High School Principal Joel Burgener, Stevens Point Area Public School District Superintendent Cory Hirsbrunner, and Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza, and met with students, educators, and staff. During the visit, the governor visited the music room, cafeteria, library, a graphic design class, and several other classrooms to answer questions from students. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Thurs., Sept. 5, the governor visited Shell Lake Elementary School in the School District of Shell Lake. During the visit, the governor, together with Shell Lake School District Superintendent Todd Felhofer and Shell Lake Elementary School Principal Kyle Johnson, visited a third-grade classroom where he read students the story “Gust” by Wisconsin author Katie Meyer. Afterward, the governor served lunch, visited with kindergarteners and first graders at lunch, and went out to recess. Photos of the visit are available here, here, and here. 

On Fri., Sept. 6, the governor finished the week with a visit to Montello School District, where he was joined by Montello School District Administrator Elizabeth Calnin, seventh through 12th-grade Principal Yedda Olson, and other school officials. During the visit, the governor went on a tour of the school, first with a visit to a sixth-grade math class, then a kindergarten math class where the students highlighted the new math skills they have learned since the start of the school year, and ended the tour with a visit to the 11th-grade American government class, where students asked the governor questions. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Tues., Sept. 10, the governor continued his back-to-school tour for a second week with a visit to Curtis Strange Elementary School in the Kenosha Unified School District. While there, the governor was joined by Curtis Strange Elementary School Principal Jonathan Bar-Din, Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Weiss, and State Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D-Kenosha) for a tour of the school. The governor started off his tour with a visit to a kindergarten classroom, where he read “Why Not You?” by Ciara and Russell Wilson, then went on to visit a first-grade music class where they sang, “I Am Unique,” and finished his visit with a stop in a fourth and fifth-grade classroom, where they asked the governor questions. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

Finally, the governor concluded his day with a visit to Algoma Elementary School in the Algoma School District. During the visit, the governor, joined by Algoma School District Superintendent Jesse Brinkmann, Algoma Elementary School Principal Katie Servi, State Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay), and school board members, toured the school and visited kindergarten and sixth-grade classrooms, as well as talked with students while handing out milk during lunch. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Thurs., Sept. 12, Gov. Evers started his day visiting Richland Center Intermediate School in Richland Center. During the visit, the governor, joined by Richland School District Superintendent Steve Board and Richland Intermediate School Principal Lisa Brown, toured the school, starting with visits to the sixth and third-grade classrooms and answered student’s questions, met with cafeteria food services staff and spoke with students in-line for lunch, and ended the tour meeting and learning the new English Language Arts Math Interventionist, Brenden Waunakee, who is working to aid the school’s growing Hispanic community. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

 Then, Gov. Evers continued his day with a visit to Addison Elementary School in the Slinger School District. The governor, together with Slinger School District Superintendent James Curler and Addison Elementary School Principal Joel Dziedzic, started the tour by visiting students in the lunchroom and spoke with school cafeteria staff members, met with first and third-grade students to discuss their current learning objectives, and sat in on music and art classes. Additionally, the governor met with fourth-grade students learning Wisconsin history and answered questions. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

On Fri., Sept. 13, Gov. Evers started his day visiting Tomahawk School District in Tomahawk. On the tour, joined by Tomahawk School District Superintendent Wendell Quesinberry, the governor engaged with students, educators, and staff while visiting kindergarten, first-grade, middle, and high school classrooms. The governor and superintendent started the tour by visiting elementary school classrooms, where they were joined by Tomahawk Elementary School Principal Sheri Woodall and made a stop at the SMART Lab, where students had the chance to show the governor their projects. Afterward, the governor and superintendent, joined by Tomahawk High School Principal Ryan Huseby, went on a tour of the career and technical education shops before heading to the innovation lab in the high school. To conclude the tour, the governor and superintendent, joined by Tomahawk Middle School Principal Stacy Bolder, visited a seventh-grade classroom, where they talked about clean energy in Wisconsin, and ended at a sixth-grade math class. Photos of the visit are available here and here.

To conclude the week, the governor visited and toured Cumberland Elementary School in Cumberland. During the tour, the governor, joined by Cumberland School District Superintendent Dr. Barry Rose and Cumberland Elementary School Principal Abe Ferguson, visited a fourth-grade classroom and answered questions from the students, then mingled with students, educators, and staff in the school cafeteria, and ended his tour joining a second-grade classroom in the library, where the governor read “Why Not You” by Ciara and Russel Wilson and participated in a sing-along. Photos from the visit are available here and here.

Finally, on Mon., Sept. 16, Gov. Evers wrapped up his statewide back-to-school tour by visiting the Hurley School District in Hurley. During the visit, the governor, joined by Hurley School District Superintendent Kevin Genisot and Hurley School District School Board President Leslie Kolesar, visited a third-grade class, fourth-grade Wisconsin history class, and high school science and English classes. Gov. Evers then visited the Northwoods Manufacturing arts class and toured the Northwoods Manufacturing room to learn about new classroom upgrades made possible by a Wisconsin Fast Forward Technical  Education Grant. The Hurley School District received a $20,000 grant that was matched by the Hurley Education Foundation to upgrade the machinery in the Northwoods Manufacturing room. Photos from this visit are available here and here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON GOV. EVERS’ INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
Gov. Evers has spent most of his life in education fighting for Wisconsin’s kids, first beginning his career as a science teacher in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and then going on to become a principal, superintendent, and state superintendent before running for governor in 2018.   

Under Gov. Evers’ leadership, Wisconsin schools are now back in the top 10 after dropping to 18th under the previous administration. After a decade of disinvestment, Gov. Evers has spent the last five years working to invest in public education at every level, including in K-12 schools. During his time in office, Gov. Evers has enacted budgets to restore two-thirds funding for public schools for the first time in over two decades, provide the largest special education aid increase in state history, and bring per pupil aid to its highest level ever.   

Together with 2023 Wisconsin Act 11, the 2023-25 budget, as signed by Gov. Evers, builds upon the historic progress of the Evers Administration toward fully funding public schools by providing an overall increase of nearly $1.2 billion in spendable authority for public school districts, including state categorical aids. This historic increase is generated by a $325 per pupil increase in revenue limits in each fiscal year, as well as an increase in the low revenue ceiling from $10,000 to $11,000 per pupil in the first year of the biennium. This is the largest increase in statewide revenue limit authority since revenue limits were first imposed on K-12 schools in 1993-94, and it is permanent and base-building.

In addition, the final 2023-25 biennial budget also: 
  • Provided $97 million over the biennium to achieve a special education reimbursement rate of 33.3 percent each year, which is the highest reimbursement rate the state has seen in over 20 years;   
  • Invested $4.6 million over the biennium for high-cost special education aid, increasing the reimbursement rate of these programs from its current 39.5 percent to 50 percent by the end of the biennium to help school districts pay a portion of their eligible special education costs for pupils with specific and elevated educational needs;   
  • Set aside $50 million to implement a statewide reading curriculum overhaul and improve reading and literacy outcomes for K-12 students; and   
  • Provided $30 million to continue support for school-based mental health services modeled on the governor’s successful “Get Kids Ahead” Initiative.

In May, Gov. Evers sued the Wisconsin State Legislature over its refusal to release the nearly $50 million to help improve reading outcomes and literacy in K-12 schools across Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers to date have refused to release the already-approved funds. Last month, Gov. Evers announced he is appealing a lower court decision as part of his continued fight to get these investments out to schools across Wisconsin. 
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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