MONROE - Wisconsin candidates for the 51st Assembly Republican primary Aug. 12 are sticking close to their party's 2014 platform in dealing with the state's business climate and school control.
Dennis Polivka of Spring Green, Todd Novak of Dodgeville, Tyler Schultz of Monroe and Ken "Rhino" Rynes of Richland are vying for the Republican spot on the general election ballot Nov. 4, when the winner is expected to face Democrat candidate Dick Cates of Spring Green and Libertarian Adam Laufenberg of Highland.
Business climate
Most of the candidates were not as tough on the state as were Wisconsin small business owners in the Small Business Friendliness Survey released this month. Wisconsin received grades of C- in overall friendliness and in regulations, with grades of D+ in its tax codes regulation and in training and networking programs. Health and safety regulations got an A-. The survey is conducted annually by Thumbtack, a San Francisco-based firm that connects consumers to local service professionals, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Novak gave the state a rating of B for its support of small business owners, in comparison to the past climate.
"We've come a long way toward a better business climate," he said.
Novak believes restricting taxes on small business would "give them more room to grow." He also finds some regulations "hamper business and hurts jobs." He favors continuing the state's "Right the Rules" program that is cleaning out old and cumbersome regulations.
Polivka also said the state needs to improve its business climate, particularly its tax structure. Wisconsin taxes have come down, but are still higher than in many surrounding states, he said.
"We have to do better," he said.
The state needs to put "more common sense in regulations" so as to produce healthy economic conditions in which to grow businesses, and it "needs more promotion to put the word out to businesses" that training is available.
"But we need to push the (technical) training back into middle schools and high schools," he said. "For 40 years they've been pushing four-year college degrees. We need to need to match the students with their interests, and a lot of that is in technical schools."
Schultz gave the state a B grade in business.
"We've come a long ways. After eight years of Jim Doyle's policies, which had a negative effect on small business and manufacturing, things are turning around, but there's still room to improve," he said.
Schultz favors tax incentives for businesses and more funding for job training. He also supports the state doing more to actively promote the education system and training programs.
Rynes agreed with the survey results, giving Wisconsin a C- for business friendliness and a D+ on its tax code. He said, as a small business owner, he understands the frustration of the state being too heavy on regulations, and he wants to see both personal and property tax reform.
"That's why I'm running," he said.
Although the legislators have started work on the "Right the Rules" project, reviewing and cleaning up the state codes and regulations, Rynes said, "we just haven't had time to see the results yet." He was part of the committee process for updating the plumber apprentice program rules.
Rynes wants Wisconsin to do more outreach to help current businesses and to open new fields for businesses with jobs and to "get people into them."
School control
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in July released estimates of general state aid to school districts. Compared to last year, 225 schools districts, or about 53 percent of Wisconsin's schools, will see an increase, which totals $121 million. Another 198 schools will received less, totaling $36 million. In total, $4.476 billion in school aid is set for the 2014-15 school year, a 2.1 percent increase from last year. Most schools in Green and Lafayette counties will see an increase.
The candidates do not favor reducing or eliminating state levy limits on school districts, but they do say something has to change in the way Wisconsin calculates state aid.
Schultz said school boards should be the party responsible overall for providing a quality education.
"Government will not willingly shrink itself," he said. "Only through levy limits do they have to think outside the box."
He believes school and municipal finance committees need to talk more about the details of a budget, where it can be cut or reduced. When a school or municipality needs more money, because it can't find any more savings, then it should go to a referendum, he said.
"There's nothing wrong with referendums," he said. "If it's winnable by the voting public, who pass it, then you won't have a problem."
Schultz also wants state and federal government to back off when it comes to setting educational standards. Federal overarching standards are slow to be developed, and then do not get revised often enough and become obsolete, he said. Change can happen faster at the local levels, making sure students are reaching the appropriate educational standards before they graduate. That's one of the things "school boards members are elected to do, along with parents and teachers," Schultz said.
Rynes said referendums "make people talk about their schools and not forget about them."
He believes the public needs to get more involved in all aspects of government.
State aid for school needs a revision, according to Rynes. "Math needs to be revised," because it takes into account "too many variables and doesn't make sense," he said.
Rynes also wants "hands-on" school boards, with local control in the hands of local citizens. His stance on local controls extends to other issues. Rynes said he cringed when the state overrode local control of sand mining. "We need to get past the mantra of "big brother knows best,'" he added.
Novak also does not support the easing of levy limits, saying they work. What he does support is overhauling state aid to schools.
"While state aid to schools is increasing," he said, "it's not equitable." Novak pointed out that certain districts get more than other districts, and some districts' taxpayers are paying in more taxes than their district is getting back. Restructure would also be more equitable for taxpayers, he added. Transportation aid to school also needs to be addressed, for rural districts, especially, he said.
Polivka favors more local control of schools, giving citizens more freedom to speak and making schools boards, along with parents, "flexible to try some different things."
Managing budgets has become "tough" under restrictions, Polivka said. "I'd like to see school board and administration do what they have to do. For too many years they've have gotten away from and not used good fiscal management."
State aid based on formulas from 2009, which created more aid going to Madison and Milwaukee, needs major changes, he said. "Rural districts are getting beaten up on that," he added. Seeing some districts getting taxed more than they receive back, Polivka said his primary objective is to look at tax funding for schools and creating more fairness.
Dennis Polivka of Spring Green, Todd Novak of Dodgeville, Tyler Schultz of Monroe and Ken "Rhino" Rynes of Richland are vying for the Republican spot on the general election ballot Nov. 4, when the winner is expected to face Democrat candidate Dick Cates of Spring Green and Libertarian Adam Laufenberg of Highland.
Business climate
Most of the candidates were not as tough on the state as were Wisconsin small business owners in the Small Business Friendliness Survey released this month. Wisconsin received grades of C- in overall friendliness and in regulations, with grades of D+ in its tax codes regulation and in training and networking programs. Health and safety regulations got an A-. The survey is conducted annually by Thumbtack, a San Francisco-based firm that connects consumers to local service professionals, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Novak gave the state a rating of B for its support of small business owners, in comparison to the past climate.
"We've come a long way toward a better business climate," he said.
Novak believes restricting taxes on small business would "give them more room to grow." He also finds some regulations "hamper business and hurts jobs." He favors continuing the state's "Right the Rules" program that is cleaning out old and cumbersome regulations.
Polivka also said the state needs to improve its business climate, particularly its tax structure. Wisconsin taxes have come down, but are still higher than in many surrounding states, he said.
"We have to do better," he said.
The state needs to put "more common sense in regulations" so as to produce healthy economic conditions in which to grow businesses, and it "needs more promotion to put the word out to businesses" that training is available.
"But we need to push the (technical) training back into middle schools and high schools," he said. "For 40 years they've been pushing four-year college degrees. We need to need to match the students with their interests, and a lot of that is in technical schools."
Schultz gave the state a B grade in business.
"We've come a long ways. After eight years of Jim Doyle's policies, which had a negative effect on small business and manufacturing, things are turning around, but there's still room to improve," he said.
Schultz favors tax incentives for businesses and more funding for job training. He also supports the state doing more to actively promote the education system and training programs.
Rynes agreed with the survey results, giving Wisconsin a C- for business friendliness and a D+ on its tax code. He said, as a small business owner, he understands the frustration of the state being too heavy on regulations, and he wants to see both personal and property tax reform.
"That's why I'm running," he said.
Although the legislators have started work on the "Right the Rules" project, reviewing and cleaning up the state codes and regulations, Rynes said, "we just haven't had time to see the results yet." He was part of the committee process for updating the plumber apprentice program rules.
Rynes wants Wisconsin to do more outreach to help current businesses and to open new fields for businesses with jobs and to "get people into them."
School control
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in July released estimates of general state aid to school districts. Compared to last year, 225 schools districts, or about 53 percent of Wisconsin's schools, will see an increase, which totals $121 million. Another 198 schools will received less, totaling $36 million. In total, $4.476 billion in school aid is set for the 2014-15 school year, a 2.1 percent increase from last year. Most schools in Green and Lafayette counties will see an increase.
The candidates do not favor reducing or eliminating state levy limits on school districts, but they do say something has to change in the way Wisconsin calculates state aid.
Schultz said school boards should be the party responsible overall for providing a quality education.
"Government will not willingly shrink itself," he said. "Only through levy limits do they have to think outside the box."
He believes school and municipal finance committees need to talk more about the details of a budget, where it can be cut or reduced. When a school or municipality needs more money, because it can't find any more savings, then it should go to a referendum, he said.
"There's nothing wrong with referendums," he said. "If it's winnable by the voting public, who pass it, then you won't have a problem."
Schultz also wants state and federal government to back off when it comes to setting educational standards. Federal overarching standards are slow to be developed, and then do not get revised often enough and become obsolete, he said. Change can happen faster at the local levels, making sure students are reaching the appropriate educational standards before they graduate. That's one of the things "school boards members are elected to do, along with parents and teachers," Schultz said.
Rynes said referendums "make people talk about their schools and not forget about them."
He believes the public needs to get more involved in all aspects of government.
State aid for school needs a revision, according to Rynes. "Math needs to be revised," because it takes into account "too many variables and doesn't make sense," he said.
Rynes also wants "hands-on" school boards, with local control in the hands of local citizens. His stance on local controls extends to other issues. Rynes said he cringed when the state overrode local control of sand mining. "We need to get past the mantra of "big brother knows best,'" he added.
Novak also does not support the easing of levy limits, saying they work. What he does support is overhauling state aid to schools.
"While state aid to schools is increasing," he said, "it's not equitable." Novak pointed out that certain districts get more than other districts, and some districts' taxpayers are paying in more taxes than their district is getting back. Restructure would also be more equitable for taxpayers, he added. Transportation aid to school also needs to be addressed, for rural districts, especially, he said.
Polivka favors more local control of schools, giving citizens more freedom to speak and making schools boards, along with parents, "flexible to try some different things."
Managing budgets has become "tough" under restrictions, Polivka said. "I'd like to see school board and administration do what they have to do. For too many years they've have gotten away from and not used good fiscal management."
State aid based on formulas from 2009, which created more aid going to Madison and Milwaukee, needs major changes, he said. "Rural districts are getting beaten up on that," he added. Seeing some districts getting taxed more than they receive back, Polivka said his primary objective is to look at tax funding for schools and creating more fairness.