For the Tomahawk Leader

TOMAHAWK – The School District of Tomahawk will receive $152,439.00 after Governor Tony Evers announced that he would direct $110 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to state schools.

Evers announced the investment on Thursday, Dec. 2.

The investment will provide new funding for schools distributed on a per-pupil basis for an additional $133.72 in per pupil aid. Every Wisconsin school district will receive additional aid under the funding, a release from Evers’s office stated.

In the release, Evers’s office said the funding was directed to “deliver on the promise (Evers) made when he signed the 2021-2023 biennial budget earlier this year to invest more than $100 million in new, additional funding into Wisconsin’s schools” and to “help address Legislative Republicans’ failure to meaningfully invest in education during the budget process and to support kids and schools as they continue to deal with the effects of and recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”

The release said the 2021-23 biennial budget met the state’s commitment for two-thirds funding for the first time in two decades and invested an additional $408 million in general school aids.

“However, the governor indicated the budget sent to his desk by the Legislature left much unfinished business in meaningfully funding education at every level,” the release stated. “After signing the 2021-23 biennial budget, Evers called a special session of the Legislature to address the budget’s shortcomings and use readily available state resources to provide more than $500 million in sustainable, ongoing funding to Wisconsin’s kids, schools, and students. Republicans in the Legislature gaveled out of the governor’s special session without consideration or debate.”

“Our kids and schools have faced unprecedented challenges during the coronavirus pandemic—from distance learning to reducing class sizes, to spending money that had been budgeted for pencils on PPE,” Evers stated. “This $110 million investment is an opportunity for schools to invest directly into programming to help students both in and out of the classroom, allowing schools to hire additional educators and staff, provide more educational and extracurricular opportunities, invest in mental health supports, buy art supplies or computers, or keep the lights on—whatever they need and, most importantly, whatever our kids need. I’ve always said what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state, and these funds will go a long way toward helping ensure our kids get the services and resources they need to rebound and recover.”

“Due to the inaction by the majority in our Legislature, Wisconsin schools face a fiscal cliff after the federal COVID-19 relief runs out,” said Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly. “We’ve been raising the alarm since July that relying on one-time federal money that comes with significant strings attached comes nowhere near meeting the ongoing needs of our students, educators, or communities—particularly in a pandemic when we have additional costs on top of regular operating expenses. Governor Evers recognizes the need for flexible, per-pupil funding, and I am proud to stand by him as we put the needs of Wisconsin’s children first.”

Local funding data

School District             Pupil count       Coronavirus relief funds received

Tomahawk                          1,140                     $152,439.00

Abbotsford                         768                         $102,695.00

Antigo                                  2,137                     $285,755.00

Athens                                 411                         $54,958.00

Butternut                            141                         $18,854.00

Chequamegon                  748                         $100,021.00

Crandon                               888                         $118,742.00

Edgar                                     565                         $75,551.00

Flambeau                            561                         $75,016.00

Ladysmith                           742                         $99,219.00

Lakeland UHS                    741                         $99,085.00

Marathon City                   669                         $89,457.00

Medford Area                   2,074                     $277,331.00

Merrill Area                       2,427                     $324,534.00

Minocqua J1                       583                         $77,958.00

Mosinee                              1,982                     $265,029.00

Northland Pines               1,281                     $171,293.00

Phillips                                 743                         $99,353.00

Prentice                               377                         $50,412.00

Rhinelander                       2,398                     $320,656.00

Rib Lake                               493                         $65,923.00

Stratford                              853                         $114,062.00

Wausau                                8,083                     $1,080,843.00

Per pupil aid amount: $133.72. Total aid distributed: $110 million. Data courtesy of Governor Tony Evers’ office. Full list available at www.bit.ly/3ElgQkM.