SWSA Provides Testimony on Several Bills on May 6

May 15, 2025

SWSA members submitted testimony at a Senate Education Hearing and a Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government on May 6, 2025.

Senate Education Committee

We provided testimony against Senate Bill 58 – Mandates the inclusion of estimated financial data in referendum questions and Senate Bill 81 – Eliminates the option for recurring referenda and limits nonrecurring referenda to four-year terms. While school districts support financial transparency, these bills do not consider all of the factors that influence school financial data and reporting, including aspects of school finance that are not controlled by local school boards, such as local property assessments.

Thank you to Dr. Jeff Weiss, Superintendent, Dr. Todd Price, Board Clerk, and Tarik Hamdan, CFO of the Kenosha Unified School District for testifying as a panel and answering questions.

This WPR new story Wisconsin school referendums would have new limitations, requirements under proposals Senate Committee on Education considering bills as school districts go to referendums in record numbers includes parts of Dr. Weiss’ testimony:

He said school districts don’t take the decision to go to referendum lightly.

In February, Kenosha failed a five-year, $23 million operational referendum. This came after the district already closed seven schools, saving $10 million.

“The community will hold us accountable for our referendums,” Weiss said.

“These bills about referendums are trying to treat a symptom,” he added. “I don’t want to lose my ability to go to the community. There are not another seven schools in the city of Kenosha that I can close.”

Another article about the 5/6 Senate Education Hearing that shares details on all bills heard, questions from senators, and additional testimony.

Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government

SWSA attended a Senate Transportation and Local Government Hearing to provide testimony in support of SB170 Rehiring of Annuitants. Thank you to Lisa Elliott, Superintendent, Greenfield School District and Dr. Weiss for providing testimony. Here were some key points from SWSA’s testimony.

We support SB 170 as it will help school districts address immediate staffing needs by allowing retirees to return to work.

All districts are experiencing staffing shortages in every single job category. Schools are facing increased labor costs in a competitive labor market, where it’s common to see educators move districts at an increased rate or leave the profession entirely. According to a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, one in five teachers in Wisconsin will leave their schools each year. This harms student learning.

Districts need flexibility to rehire retired staff for critical full-time, part-time, and substitute teaching positions. This legislation will help fill hard-to-hire positions and will impact multiple roles: professional educators, especially in math and AP classes, teacher mentors, business managers, special education staff, school safety managers, and school bus drivers, to name a few. This simple change will provide much needed flexibility for public school districts and can quickly help with current staffing shortfalls.