BELMONT - Gov. Scott Walker's original 2017-19 state budget included a provision to increase state aid to small school districts by $100 per student.
The proposal was removed by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee and didn't make it into the budget Walker signed in September.
But small school districts may get an increase in state aid in the next school year under a bill authored by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), a member of the JFC.
Marklein's bill would spend $9.7 million to increase sparsity aid - which goes to school districts with 745 or fewer students and fewer than 10 students per square mile - from $300 to $400 per student in the 2018-19 school year.
The bill would also create a second group of school districts that have 746 to 1,000 students that also would get expanded state aid.
The Joint Finance Committee removed the sparsity aid proposal from the budget. A Marklein news release said that vetoes in the budget Walker signed would fund the program.
Marklein said in the release most school districts in his Senate district "were negatively impacted by these changes" with 25 school districts eligible for sparsity in his district getting $2.2 million less aid than under the original budget proposal.
Marklein was at Belmont Grade School Tuesday afternoon with Gov. Scott Walker. Marklein said Belmont could receive almost $40,000 in additional state aid if his bill passes the Legislature in its current form. Belmont got $108,231 in sparsity aid this school year.
Local school districts that received sparsity aid this school year include Albany ($125,726), Argyle ($92,219), Barneveld ($131,063), Benton ($71,162), Black Hawk ($115,644), Juda ($74,131), Monticello ($115,940), Pecatonica ($138,773) and Shullsburg ($114,161).
Marklein said Tuesday he is hopeful the sparsity aid bill will be passed this session.
The proposal was removed by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee and didn't make it into the budget Walker signed in September.
But small school districts may get an increase in state aid in the next school year under a bill authored by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), a member of the JFC.
Marklein's bill would spend $9.7 million to increase sparsity aid - which goes to school districts with 745 or fewer students and fewer than 10 students per square mile - from $300 to $400 per student in the 2018-19 school year.
The bill would also create a second group of school districts that have 746 to 1,000 students that also would get expanded state aid.
The Joint Finance Committee removed the sparsity aid proposal from the budget. A Marklein news release said that vetoes in the budget Walker signed would fund the program.
Marklein said in the release most school districts in his Senate district "were negatively impacted by these changes" with 25 school districts eligible for sparsity in his district getting $2.2 million less aid than under the original budget proposal.
Marklein was at Belmont Grade School Tuesday afternoon with Gov. Scott Walker. Marklein said Belmont could receive almost $40,000 in additional state aid if his bill passes the Legislature in its current form. Belmont got $108,231 in sparsity aid this school year.
Local school districts that received sparsity aid this school year include Albany ($125,726), Argyle ($92,219), Barneveld ($131,063), Benton ($71,162), Black Hawk ($115,644), Juda ($74,131), Monticello ($115,940), Pecatonica ($138,773) and Shullsburg ($114,161).
Marklein said Tuesday he is hopeful the sparsity aid bill will be passed this session.