Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) pulled off a veto trick that allowed him to lock in spending for public schools for the next 402 years.
The original budget sent to him offered $325 in spending for children for the school years "2023-24" and "2024-25." However, Evers struck the "24" from the first school year, the "20" in the second, and the hyphen between 2024 and 25. The result was for the budget to promise $325 in funding per child from 2023 until the year 2425.
WHY THE UFO WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE GETTING A MIXED REACTION
The maneuver is within the limits of Wisconsin law, which allocates a large amount of power to the governor. The governor of Wisconsin has the ability to veto parts of a bill, down to individual words and letters, then sign it without having to get approval from the legislature for the new version of the bill, according to WisContext.
Republicans were outraged over the move, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) saying in a statement that legislative Republicans had worked "tirelessly over the last few months to block Governor Evers’ liberal tax and spending agenda. "
Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R) portrayed the move as a betrayal on behalf of Evers.
"After months of good faith negotiations on major budget items, it is unacceptable that he went back on his word and broke our agreement," August said. "It will be difficult, if not impossible, to ever negotiate with this governor again in the future.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Democrats and their allies were much happier with the move. Dan Rossmiller, who represents the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, said he "certainly appreciated" Evers' move, but called for further funding.
"I wish the amount would have been higher," Rossmiller said. "With inflation at 40-year highs, it's really important to be able to attract and retain teachers and staff, and to be able to pay the increased costs of everything in a school district's budget."