EVANSVILLE — Jon Aleckson, Republican candidate for the 50th Assembly District, which includes all of Green County and southwestern Dane County, took part in a school funding forum at Evansville High School on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The forum was hosted by a group of [16] school districts from south central Wisconsin, including Monroe and New Glarus, that have been meeting to find shared solutions to school funding challenges. Superintendents, school board members and principals attended, along with about 15 legislative candidates: incumbents, challengers and open-seat candidates from both parties.

The discussion focused on how state school funding has kept pace with the high inflation of the early 2020s.

Aleckson said state funding for special education needs to increase, and that school funding as a whole needs to be predictable so districts can plan, especially when inflation drives up costs.

He also called for a Biennial Wisconsin Education Conference that would look at school funding alongside the job market, which is changing quickly as businesses adopt artificial intelligence (AI). Aleckson said the conference should bring together legislators and school officials with representatives of private employers, the Universities of Wisconsin and technical college systems, and parents.

“The discussion Thursday reminded us that the last statewide effort, in 2019, produced good ideas but no follow-through,” Aleckson said. “This time we have no choice, because AI will force our hand. The second phase of the Technology Age will bring a lot of job opportunities, but if we don’t move fast, we will be left behind.

“I am determined that our students and Wisconsin’s economy have a strong future,” he said. “My background is in educational technology, from my studies at the University of Wisconsin to the company I built. I am convinced Wisconsin can be a leading state in this new age. Look at Epic and Exact Sciences.”