Politics – Wisconsin | Boots & Sabers

Mauston School District Eyes Third Referendum Within a Year After Voters Say “No”

by Owen | 2034, 25 Nov 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 2 Comments

This is going to be a long post, so buckle up. It is just one example of how Wisconsin government school districts cry poor and threaten kids’ education even when they are swimming in cash and how the data shows exactly where the money is going. Let’s go…

The Mauston School District is threatening to dissolve after an operational referendum was rejected by the voters this month. But wait, there’s more… the failed referendum in November was after they had another failed referendum just seven months ago in April. But wait, there’s more… despite the voters telling the school board to live within their means twice within a year, the school board is considering putting ANOTHER operational referendum on the ballot in February. But this time, they are threatening to dissolve the school district if they don’t get more cash. They just can’t possibly see a way forward without getting more money. They are blaming the usual suspects: declining aid with declining student population, rising expenses, and that dastardly equalization aid formula. You can read their agony in this story by WPR, but that’s the gist.

What’s really going on?

All of the data used in this post is found in various reports publicly available from the state DPI. I prefer longitudinal data and the data set takes us to the 2022-2023 school year. I’ll refer to school years going forward by the year when the school year ended. All good? Let’s dig into the Mauston School District and their alleged woes.

ENROLLMENT:

For the past 10 years, enrollment in the district has been relatively flat with an average enrollment of 1,448 students. In 2013, they had an enrollment of 1,462. In 2023, they had an enrollment of 1,410. Over a 10 year period, that’s an enrollment decline of 3.6% over a decade. This is actually better than most school districts that are facing steeper enrollment declines due to the overall demographic trends in the state.

So let’s lick apart the superintendent’s statement from the WPR story:

“It’s so enrollment driven, which is a challenge in rural areas,” Heesch said. “You’re seeing declining enrollments, your revenues are either flat or decreasing based on those enrollments, while your expenditures, especially through an inflationary period, have increased dramatically.”

Enrollment is down. A bit. A little bit. But a 3.6% decline over a decade is very, very manageable. It is not a precipitous collapse. So let’s look at revenue and costs.

REVENUE:

Over the same 10 year period, from 2013 to 2023, Total comparative revenue is up 28.7% from $20,795,476 to $26,757,154. In per-student terms over the same period, revenue increased 34.5% from $14,114 per student to $18,977 per student.

In inflation adjusted dollars, $18,977 in 2023 was worth about $14,814 in 2013 dollars according to the CPI calculator from the federal BLS.

So, the conclusion is that revenue on both a total and on a per-student basis has kept up with inflation and then some. District revenue has exceeded the inflation rate by about 5%. That’s not an excessive amount, but it does show that the taxpayers have provided increasingly more funding to the Mauston School District in excess of the rate of inflation.

COSTS:

Enrollment is flat to a slight decline. Revenue is increasing in excess of inflation. So why is the school districts claiming a financial crisis that may require them to dissolve without even more money?

It’s the costs. It’s always the costs. Let’s take a look:

In the report titled “Audited Annual Report Comparative Cost” for Mauston in the longitudinal reports (it downloads as an excel sheet), we can see the spending for every line item over time. The thing to look for is which line items are increasing in excess to inflation or are new expenditures. Here are some key cost drivers (note that I am going to use per-pupil numbers to normalize the spending to enrollment):

Total Instructional Expenditures are up 22.4% from $6,983 per student to $8,544 per student. That’s not bad. It’s actually lower than the rate of inflation over the same period.
Operational/Administration/Other expenditures are up 51.1% from $2,793 to $4,220 over the 10-year period. That is double the rate of inflation.
That doesn’t tell the whole story of the cost of administration. Beginning in 2015, all Wisconsin districts broke out Administration costs into its own category (thank you, Republicans) so we can see them better, Between 2015 and 2023, just Administration expenses went up 37.5%. Over the same period, Operational expenses increased 47.5%. Both categories were increasing well in excess of the rate of inflation.
- The big drivers in these categories were “Operation Administration,” “Other Support Services,” and “Purchased Instructional Services.”
Interestingly, between 2013 and 2023, transportation costs went up less than 1% – well below the rate of inflation. So the excuse that many rural districts use for spending is the cost of transportation in a geographically large, population sparse, district does not apply here.
Facilities costs went up 77% between 2013 and 2023 from $1,838 per student to $3,259 per student.

SUMMARY:

The story of the Mauston School District is similar to so many other school districts in Wisconsin. Student enrollment has been flat to declining, but their revenue has been increasing to match the rate of inflation and then some. The spending on direct student instruction – the money spent on actual teachers in the classrooms – has increased, but not as quickly as the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, spending on administration and facilities has far exceeded the rate of inflation – soaking up all of the additional revenue, and then some, and squeezing out spending on teachers.

The alleged financial struggles of the Mauston School District are entirely self-inflicted by wasteful spending on administration and facilities. Meanwhile, the students and the teachers are left wanting. The taxpayers are right to deny them more money through an operational referendum and the school board and administration are utterly incompetent and/or corrupt if they can’t manage the district’s finances any better than this.

West Bend = Madison

by Owen | 2126, 6 Nov 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 1 Comment

What do West Bend and Madison have in common? They both passed idiotic, wasteful school referendums that will strangle your taxpayers for decades to come. And neither referendum will result in a single kid getting a better education. But it’s not really about the kids, is it?

Waukesha County Charges Ahead with Implementing Sales Tax

by Owen | 0747, 22 Oct 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 5 Comments

They vote tonight. In an era where Waukesha residents are being hit from all sides with price increases, homes are unaffordable, and every taxing entity is reaching further into their pockets, let’s pry that the Waukesha County Board members find the strength to stand with the citizens who elected them. And no, the citizens don’t get a direct vote on this.

On Thursday, October 3, 2024 the County Executive introduced an ordinance to authorize a 0.5% county sales tax to be added to the existing state sales and use tax of 5%. The ordinance implements a sales tax beginning on July 1, 2025.

The plan is a compromise proposal to address our critical fiscal needs for nearly a decade. The specifics of the proposal are as follows:

Up to 20% of sales tax collections (estimated $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward a direct reduction of property tax bills partially offsetting the impact of the sales tax on property owners. With the property tax cut in place the impact of the sales tax on a homeowner drops from about $12.00 per month to roughly $7.25 per month. The tax cut will appear on the December 2025 tax bills.
Up to 20% of the sales tax collection beginning in January of 2027 (estimated to be about $12 million if sales tax collections reach $60M) would go toward local property tax reduction through monthly municipal aid payments. The level of aid will be determined based upon population of the municipality. Local aid levels would be revisited every two years in conjunction with the state budget cycle.
The remaining 60% of sales tax dollars (roughly $36 million of an estimated sales tax collection of $60M) will be used to further reduce the County’s reliance on the property tax levy by eliminating our annual budget shortfall for at least the next 8 to 10 years and provide funds to the capital budget further reducing the County’s need to borrow funds.

Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin Hinges on Election

by Owen | 0802, 18 Oct 24 | Economy, Politics - Wisconsin | 2 Comments

I’ve been to Buc-ee’s many times. It’s a great place to get gas, a sandwich, a change of clothes, some jerky, and a deer stand. It’s fun. It’s not a place to necessarily get your morning coffee or just a quick fill up. There’s no doubt, however, that it’s a draw. Buc-ee’s are almost always busy. I prefer a Kwik Trip for everyday use.

This article is annoying because the reporter doesn’t actually do the work to put the various candidates on record on whether or not they would support Buc-ee’s or not. The article says that the future of Buc-ee’s in Wisconsin depends on the outcome, but doesn’t give voters any insight into which candidates favor it and which ones don’t. And I don’t think it’s necessarily a partisan issue. These issues normally come down to local preference and tolerance for corporate welfare.

As a result, the proposed Buc-ee’s plan includes a $15 million upgrade to the Interstate 39/90/94 interchange. Without it, the convenience store is likely to cause traffic to back up onto the interstate, he said.

Buc-ee’s plans to reimburse 47% of the cost of the interchange project, Chang said, leaving local officials to figure out the rest. In June, he told the Journal Sentinel that the village was brainstorming ways to foot the bill, such as a tax improvement district.

Now, Chang said the village is waiting to see who wins multiple local and state government seats in the Nov. 5 election: Dane County executive, State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 14.

“We anticipate that we’ll need some political help with the interchange project …,” Chang said. “I hate to make it an issue about elections, but we really are just waiting to see who’s going to help us because we definitely can’t do it ourselves, and we know that the impacts are far-reaching.”

[…]

Buc-ee’s owns the DeForest land and plans to build a 74,000-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps and 20 electric vehicle charging stations. This rivals the brand’s biggest store, a 74,707-square-foot one in Sevierville, Tenn.

[…]

The entire Buc-ee’s project is estimated to cost $50 million, Chang said. The store is expected to bring in $25 million in gross taxable sales per year, including $1 million annually in sales tax revenue for the state. The store will create between 200 and 225 jobs, he said.

Arrowhead Asks for Fortune

by Owen | 0736, 15 Oct 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

You would have to be near braindead to think that this is a good idea.

WAUKESHA — Voters in the Arrowhead Union High School District will be asked on the Nov. 5 ballot to approve two referendum questions seeking to fund a new high school and to cover operational expenses over the next four years.

The first question seeks for residents of the school district to authorize $1.9 million annually over the next four years, to be used to attract and retain staff, protect educational offerings, aid in maintenance, and keep up with inflationary cost increases, the district said on a website explaining the referendum. It would succeed a $1.7 annual operating referendum passed in 2019 and which expires this year, said Conrad Farner, district superintendent.

The second question asks voters to approve $261.2 million for a new high school on the current AHS site. Its aim is to bring Arrowhead High School, now split into two campuses, under one roof, with a new eight-lane pool to be made available for community use as well, a 1,000-seat auditorium also to be made available for public events, updated classroom technology, enhanced security, and more inside a building of about 555,000 square feet.

They want a QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS to replace a fully functional facility. Why? Because they want to. Zero students will get a better education for this expense.

West Bend Schools Asking Voters to Approve Idiotic Referendum

by Owen | 2151, 13 Oct 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

This is probably the easiest decision on the ballot. The West Bend School District is facing a rapid and persistent DECLINE in enrollment and has done almost nothing to plan for it. You would be an imbecile to give them over $150 million to educate fewer kids with zero commitment to improve educational outcomes.

In West Bend, district residents will be asked to approve a $106.25 million facilities referendum to fund security improvements, critical capital maintenance improvements, improve operational efficiency, realign grade levels and replace Jackson Elementary School.

With interest included, at a rate of 4.75%, and annual fair market property growth, at 2%, the estimated total cost is $165.45 million. The current interest rate of 3.95% would place the total cost at about $13 million less, for an estimated $152.45 million.

The estimated tax impact would be an increase in the mill rate of $102 per $100,000 of assessed property value for approximately 20 years, if approved (based on a 20year repayment for Tax-Exempt General Obligation Bonds, a 2% annual fair market property value growth and approximately $59.2 million in estimated interest costs — the cost at a 4.75% interest rate.)

Included in the referendum plan is the closing of Decorah Elementary, Fair Park Elementary, the Rolfs Education Center and the Education Service Center (district central office), which will help the district avoid $51 million in capital maintenance costs, according to the WBSD.

The referendum question for WBSD residents on the Nov. 5 ballot reads: “Shall the West Bend Joint School District Number 1, Washington County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $106,250,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school building and facility improvement project consisting of: construction of a new Jackson Elementary building on district-owned land; renovations and construction of additions, including for safe and secure entrances at East/West High Schools; renovations, including new safe and secure entrances and grade level reconfiguration at Green Tree and McLane Schools; renovations and grade level reconfiguration at Silverbrook and Badger Schools; districtwide capital maintenance and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?’

Noticing What’s Missing

by Owen | 2034, 28 Sep 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 14 Comments

I spent a good chunk of the day at the world’s largest cranberry festival in Warrens, Wisconsin. It struck me that there were hundreds of people wearing pro-Trump gear, and dozens of vendors selling pro-Trump gear, but I did not see a single pro Biden or Harris thing. Not a shirt. Not a hat. Not a button. Nothing. Nowhere.

No doubt there was a pro-Harris person in there somewhere, but I didn’t see them. While my observation was passive for the first couple of hours, I began to really look for one once it struck me.

Nothing.

I realize that Warrens is in the middle of conservative, rural, Wisconsin, but it was striking that there was not a single pro-Harris person willing to wear the brand.

Evers’ Unconstitutional Veto Challenged

by Owen | 1943, 21 Sep 24 | Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

I’d like to think that this has a chance of succeeding, but I doubt it with our Leftist Supreme Court.

There are new challenges to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding increase.

Both the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the Institute for Reforming Government recently filed amicus briefs with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, challenging the governor’s veto power.

“The partial veto power is a tool in the governor’s toolbelt, but it has a specific purpose. When it comes to fiscal policy, the partial veto power is a one-way rachet. It empowers the governor to tighten public spending and taxation by eliminating or reducing budgetary items, but it does not permit the reverse. The governor cannot use the partial veto power to increase either appropriations or revenue. That function requires a different tool – legislative power – which is not in the governor’s toolbelt,” IRGs brief states.

Evers changed a line in the current state budget to change a two-year school funding increase into a 400-year increase.

Recognize that if/when the Republicans are able to reverse this some time in the future, the liberals will accuse Republicans of cutting school funding.

Red Florida

by Owen | 0844, 15 Sep 24 | Politics, Politics - Wisconsin | 1 Comment

This is the lesson that so many elected Republicans refuse to learn. Why has Florida shifted so quickly and firmly into a solid Republican state? Because DeSantis and other Florida Republicans actually governed according to their conservative beliefs and the beliefs they ran on.

But for the first time in recent political memory, the 2024 presidential race has left Florida as a comparative afterthought. Democrats here have tried to maintain momentum and voter intensity, but nearly every measurable factor indicates that Florida is not realistically in play for them in this year’s presidential contest.

“Are you happy we are a solid Republican state? It used to be …presidential elections, we would be on a razor’s edge about the state of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, told a crowd of the party faithful at a gathering last weekend at the Hard Rock Casino in South Florida. “Because if Republicans could not win the state of Florida, then you did not have a path to win the Electoral College.”

Florida has long been solidly red at the state level as Republicans built a now more than 1 million person voter registration advantage, and they remain firmly in control of nearly every lever of political power. But in the past, when huge sums of money flowed in during presidential races, the state was considered winnable for Democrats.

We saw this in Wisconsin. When Governor Walker and the legislative Republicans were first elected on a strong conservative platform, they immediately went into action. That first term was amazing and advanced dozens of key conservative initiatives like tax cuts, concealed carry, castle doctrine, regulatory reform, judicial reform, entitlement reform, and on and on and on. The result was that legions of voters came out to reelect Walker in the recall election and for a second term. Voters also elected strong Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature. The voters liked what they were getting.

Then what happened? In Walker’s second term, he and the legislative Republicans got soft. Their policies were weaker. They caved to the Democrats too often. They radically increased spending. Walker moderated as he tried to run for president and several of the legislative leaders did the same as they eyed higher office or aspired to be liked in the clubs of Madison.

The weakening in Walker’s second term led directly to his defeat against the Grey Man of Tony Evers. It wasn’t that Evers was a great candidate. It was that a lot of Republicans who voted for Walker three times were just not excited to vote a fourth. Walker wasn’t offering the bold conservative agenda that had brought him into office.

Meanwhile, in Florida, DeSantis remains a conservative powerhouse. He continues to push conservatism wherever possible and is an outspoken conservative voice. The result? Florida is no longer a swing state. It is solidly Republican.

When conservatives govern as conservatives, they win. Why? Because conservative policies work, and people vote for policies that work.

Tammy Baldwin Allegedly Uses Government Power for Benefit of Partner and Self

by Owen | 0818, 30 Aug 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

Out government has become just a giant grift, hasn’t it?

Baldwin co-owns a $1.3 million DC penthouse condo with her partner, Wall Street private wealth management adviser Maria Brisbane but hasn’t included any of their jointly owned assets on her financial-disclosure reports — despite reporting the assets of her previous partner. In fact, Brisbane has never appeared on the senator’s reports.

The 2015 Tammy Baldwin might have objected to this arrangement.

[…]

Brisbane is the founder of Brisbane Group, whose archived website from when it was at Merrill Lynch (archived at the end of 2023) claimed to “enhance performance” by investing in “small biotechnology” companies.

Brisbane previously managed a “biotechnology mutual fund” at Merrill Lynch, where she was said to have an appreciation for cutting-edge research that informs her current investments in biotech companies. Brisbane is also on the Cancer Research and Treatment Fund board of directors, who “rapidly deploy funding to the frontlines of research.”

[…]

Baldwin said she “met privately” with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to “make a final pitch” for Wisconsin to win the Phase 2 Implementation Grant as a Biohealth Tech Hub.

The Wisconsin senator’s role in securing funding for biotech companies is no secret.

Baldwin also chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, which manages appropriations for the National Institutes for Health.

In 2018, a biotech CEO thanked Baldwin for her “support” after her firm received an award from one of the relevant NIH programs. That CEO, Ayla Annac, contributed nearly $4,000 to Baldwin, including more than $1,000 in the months before and after she thanked Baldwin. Baldwin also included Annac in the Business Leaders for Tammy coalition one month before the CEO thanked the senator for her help.

This is a really simple story. Baldwin’s partner – with whom she lives and shares a life – makes a very good living advising small biotech firms and their investors. Baldwin uses her position in government to help decide which firms will receive taxpayer-funded grants, protections, favoritism, etc. When the firms Baldwin supports get a pile of money, so do the investors and the person who advised them… Brisbane.

This is an old school Chicago-style grift.

Wisconsin DPI Lowers Performance Goals for Students

by Owen | 0857, 23 Aug 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

This happened a few months ago, but I missed it. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has lowered the performance levels for the Forward Exam – the state standardized test that we use to measure the success or failure of our schools. Put another way, the Government Education Complex was frustrated with the fact that test scores have been flat or declining for years, so they decided to lower the standards to make it look better.

The bars for labeling the comparative success of kids have been lowered. Lowered to levels that are more constructive, reasonable and realistic? To levels that undermine efforts to set rigorous goals and improve the overall achievement of Wisconsin students? Different people would have different opinions.

The bars — known as “cut scores” — mark the boundaries between one category of performance and the next higher or lower category on the tests. This fall, when information on state test results from last spring are released to the public, the percentages will rise, although by how much is not yet known.

They also changed the nomenclature to:

Advanced – The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of the
knowledge and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their
grade level and is on-track for future learning.

• Meeting – The student is meeting the knowledge and skill expectations described
in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level and is on-track for
future learning.

• Approaching – The student is approaching the knowledge and skill expectations
described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level needed to be
on-track for future learning.

• Developing – The student is at the beginning stages of developing the knowledge
and skills described in the Wisconsin Academic Standards for their grade level
needed to be on-track for future learning

It used to be Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic.

Look for the news stories when this year’s test results are released. I expect to see educrats celebrating a “rise in scores,” but remember that what actually happened is that we lowered the standards to appease crappy teachers.

Our government education system has been failing and collapsing for decades. We are larding up the bureaucracy with administrators and cost while educational performance keeps falling. We are filling up the curriculum with useless information and social engineering while other countries are teaching their kids how to be successful in the 21st century. We are failing our kids and the government’s response is to lower the standards and use different words to obfuscate their failures. Bad test scores are not an indictment of the kids. It is an indictment of the system and adults who are failing the kids.

UW to Ask for $855 Million More

by Owen | 2209, 22 Aug 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 1 Comment

How about…. no.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Universities of Wisconsin regents agreed overwhelmingly on Thursday to ask Gov. Tony Evers for an additional $855 million for the cash-strapped system in the next state budget.

This.

The Universities are educating 17,297 fewer people. That’s like the entire population of Kaukauna or Cudahy. Why would the taxpayers spend another $855 million to educate fewer people?

Wisconsin Leftist Judges Work to Rig Election

by Owen | 2154, 22 Aug 24 | Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

The leftist judges on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are actually doing the work of the DNC to keep the Green Party off the ballot. Where are the Greens?

(The Center Square) – Following the Wisconsin Election Commission’s dismissal of a complaint from a Democratic National Committee staffer, who seeks to remove Green Party candidate Jill Stein from the ballot, the plaintiff has doubled down and filed an expedited appeal with the state’s Supreme Court.

Court documents reveal it accepted the case Thursday and is requesting that the plaintiff provide additional information, actions that have caused two Supreme Court justices to dissent.

“The majority issues an unprecedented order directing the petitioner – within two hours – to give the court contact information for the respondents, which is currently absent from the record because no one has entered an appearance on behalf of any of those parties. How is the petitioner – an employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) – supposed to know the name or physical address of an ‘attorney or other representative of each respondent who is authorized to accept service of orders issued by this court’?” Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley wrote in dissent of the Supreme Court’s majority ruling. “To my knowledge, at no time in history has the court issued orders before parties had made their appearances. Petitioner filed this original action on Monday, served the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday, and served the Wisconsin Green Party just yesterday. The majority steps beyond its neutral role to lawyer the case on behalf of the DNC, seemingly facilitating an expedited review of this original action. Other parties presenting original action petitions have not received such preferential treatment by this court.”

Tony Evers Flubs DNC Nomination

by Owen | 0737, 21 Aug 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 3 Comments

Be proud, Wisconsin… be proud.

Wisconsin Referenda Fail

by Owen | 1823, 14 Aug 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 4 Comments

This is very frustrating, but easy to explain.

(The Center Square) – Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning organizations are celebrating voters’ rejection of two ballot proposals that would have empowered the legislature to have a say in certain spending decision.

But others are warning a Republican governor could change Democrats’ minds in the future.

[…]

The two referendums would have required the governor to include the state’s legislature in spending decisions regarding certain federal funding, which supporters argued would enhance fiscal responsibility. Opponents claimed the amendments were simply a Republican power grab.

This is frustrating because this is such a clear cut decision about good government. No single person should ever be able to spend billions of tax dollars at their sole discretion. It has been this way in Wisconsin forever, but it wasn’t a lot of money until Covid dumped tens of billions of dollars into the state’s lap. If you voted “no” for these amendments, then you don’t really believe in things like checks and balances or separation of powers.

Also, the referenda were necessarily written in a confusing, legalistic manner. This left people a bit confused if they didn’t read up ahead of time.

The liberals poured an inordinate amount of money into this election to encourage people to vote “no.” Why? Always. Follow. The. Money. Remember that the problem with the status quo is that the governor can spend that money wherever he or she wants. Evers has been pouring that money into favored groups in favored areas. The people receiving that money have a vested interest in keeping the gravy train flowing. Therefore, people and groups came out of the woodwork to get people to vote to keep Evers’ hand on the money spigot.

Finally, in a low turnout election, Dane County came through again. Statewide, turnout was about 26%. In Dane County, turnout was 44% for these questions. And Dane County voted 82% “no.” That’s 137,000ish “no” votes for referenda that lost statewide by 182,000 votes.

Milwaukee is heading on the same trend. Milwaukee County turnout was 32% (remember statewide was 26%) and voted 7 to 3 against the referenda. That’s another 105,000 “no” votes.

Meanwhile, Waukesha County didn’t do bad with turnout of 37% with a high-profile DA race on the ballot. But Waukesha is not nearly as Conservative as Dane and Milwaukee are Liberal. The referenda only received 53% “yes” votes in Waukesha County.

The demographics are such that Dane and Milwaukee Counties are uber-blue and are turning out disproportionately compared to the rest of the state. The WOW Counties are increasingly purple. This means that the liberals have an embedded electoral advantage being able to focus almost all of their effort into two counties while conservatives have to drive turnout in the other seventy.

One thing is certain… when we have a Republican governor again, I will encourage that governor to spend 100% of any federal money in Republican communities and with conservative causes. Fair is fair. If we are not going to have good government, at least we can attempt to make it equal in terms of distribution.

Vote “Yes” on Two Wisconsin Referenda

by Owen | 0639, 1 Aug 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 71 Comments

Just vote yes.

Wisconsin’s partisan primary election is Aug. 13, and voters will see two referendum questions on their ballots asking to give the state Legislature more power over distributing federal funding, an effort sparked by clashes over Gov. Tony Evers’ power to distribute billions of dollars in coronavirus relief money.

[…]

Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?”

Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

In a sane world, this would be a no-brainer. I don’t care if the Governor is a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, man, woman, Jew or Gentile, no single person should have complete and arbitrary authority to spend billions and billions of tax dollars. It is the antithesis of good government and a recipe for corruption and grift.

Vote “yes” for good government.

Hartford School Board Protects Girls

by Owen | 0652, 24 Jul 24 | Crime, Education, Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

Good for them. We win back this country at the local level with work like this.

HARTFORD — The Hartford Union High School (HUHS) Board voted not to accept a revised definition of the term “sex” under Title IX on Monday night.

[…]

The current HUHS process regarding students wanting to use different pronouns or a different name would not change. The school would still contact the parents and set up a meeting or have conversations with the parents, and only the parents’ written permission would allow HUHS to address the student by that name or pronouns.

Wisconsin’s Government Schools Are Flush With Cash

by Owen | 2039, 23 Jul 24 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

We keep spending and spending and the performance is stagnant to declining. After a minimum floor of spending is met, there is no positive correlation between school spending and educational outcomes.

(The Center Square) – Public schools in Wisconsin are spending nearly $1,000 more per-student than a decade ago, despite falling enrollment and flat test scores.

The latest spending information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction shows public schools in the state spent $17,697 per-student in 2022. That’s down from the $18,088 in 2020, but about $1,000 more than what schools were spending in 2011.

Will Flanders with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty say those are inflation-adjusted number and show most schools in Wisconsin have plenty of money to spend.

West Bend Awarded Federal Money to Repave Paradise Drive

by Owen | 1121, 10 Jul 24 | Politics - Wisconsin | 5 Comments

I have questions…

WEST BEND — The city announced on Tuesday that it will receive federal funding, in the amount of $1.25 million, for the resurfacing of Paradise Drive from Main Street to the Eisenbahn Trail through the Surface Transportation Program-Urban that is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Through the STP-U program, 80% of the resurfacing cost will be covered by federal funds, with West Bend covering the remaining 20% of project costs. According to a news release, of the $1.25 million in federal funding, $91,084 will go toward the design phase of the project and $1,158,917 will go to the construction phase of the project.

Here is the route that this is about:

0.6 miles. Roughly 1,000 feet. Ten football fields. $1.56 MILLION to just resurface it. Let’s start with that. That’s expensive. Why is it so expensive? Yes, asphalt is petroleum-based and the cost of materials is high. But we’re not talking any underground work or changes. It’s just resurfacing. That’s $1,500 per YARD of road.

And what is this?

$91,084 will go toward the design phase of the project

That’s just the federal contribution, so over $100k to design… what? It’s resurfacing an existing road. What the hell are they designing? Who is being paid to design it? The city has a city engineer on staff. What the hell is he doing?

Furthermore, why are our federal dollars going to this at all? Why is it the interest of taxpayers in any other town or state in our nation to resurface half a mile of a local road in West Bend, Wisconsin? There is an insane amount of filtering that that money goes through before getting to the project and it comes with all sorts of strings. It’s an incredible amount of waste and not the role of the federal government or the national taxpayers.

Then, the cherry…

“We are excited about the approval of this federal funding,” City Engineer Max Marechal said in the release. “This funding is crucial for improving our city roads. We thank WisDOT for their support and look forward to starting construction in 2028.”

2028!?!? FOUR YEARS FROM NOW!?!? TO START!?!?

If you want a perfect example of how dysfunctional and wasteful our government is, I give you the resurfacing project for a half-mile stretch of road in West Bend, frickin’ Wisconsin.

Leftists on Wisconsin Supreme Court Finally Make Move to Allow Abortions

by Owen | 0707, 3 Jul 24 | Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Here we go.

Madison, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court decided Tuesday to consider two challenges to a 175-year-old law that conservatives maintain bans abortion without letting the cases wind through lower courts.

Abortion advocates stand an excellent chance of prevailing in both cases given the high court’s liberal tilt and remarks a liberal justice made on the campaign trail about how she supports abortion rights.

[…]

Boots & Sabers