Walker Voices Support For Increasing Aid To Rural Schools

Gov. Scott Walker is voicing support for increasing state aid to rural schools, reviving an idea rejected from his state budget by the Legislature.

Walker on Tuesday said he supports a bill circulated for co-sponsors in the Legislature to increase sparsity aid for low-population districts by nearly $10 million in the 2018 school year.

“Our sense was we’d rather have the state provide, particularly in the case of rural school school districts, we’d rather have the state make that investment than ask local property taxpayers to pick up the gap,” Walker said.

The proposal from Republican Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Jeff Mursau would increase sparsity aid from $300 per student to $400 for districts with fewer than 745 students. It would also create a new tier of aid totaling $100 for each student in a district with 746 to 1,000 students.

Budget committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren says he’s discussing with Walker’s administration the best way to address the sparsity aid issue.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling called Walker’s idea a gimmick.