March Blog: Workforce Connector

Area Education and Business Leaders Looking to Invest in Educational Institutions in the Near Future

Wisconsin’s Big-Budget Surplus is sitting at an estimated $3.8 billion in addition to the $1.7 billion rainy day fund, totaling $5.5 billion. Now the question is how can they use this money to make positive changes to the state’s programs. 

One of the main areas of interest for investment consisted of the areas of education and schooling institutions. Local area education and business leaders came together at the beginning of March in Milwaukee to discuss future steps with these assets. Not just any academic institutions, however focusing on Wisconsin’s K-12 schools. 

A letter addressed to Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers, states that “K-12 education is directly linked to one of the most important roles the state has, developing its citizens as lifelong learners, capable of adapting to the changing needs or our economy and our communities.” Putting educational success at the foundation of the state’s economic future is one of the driving factors in this pursuit. This letter was signed by more than 300 education and business leaders, and along with the letter, there was a proposed inflationary adjustment and reimbursement rate to support those with disabilities.

With a large number of stakeholders at the Milwaukee conference, the push for educational funding and foundation was very important. Among the many speakers at the conference, Chris Her-Xiong, the Executive Director of Hmong American Peace Academy spoke that “If there is ever a time to invest in the future of our scholars, the time is now.” This encouraged urgency about the topic at hand and pushed policymakers to make a decision on how to delegate the funds to successfully support the state of Wisconsin. 

To read more about this decision and all of the details that went into the conference, please click the link below!

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