MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers this week has been visiting school classrooms, highlighting more than $50 million in budget initiatives aimed at improving learning outcomes for Wisconsin kids, including in reading and literacy, computer science, personal finance, and math education. As 2023-25 biennial budget deliberations are set to pick up in the Wisconsin State Legislature starting next week, Gov. Evers is urging legislators to pass his education budget that provides the largest increase in K-12 schools and education in state history. 

“An investment in our kids is an investment we will never be sorry to make, so making sure our kids are ready for success and able to achieve their full and best potential must be a top priority for investments in this budget,” said Gov. Evers. “We know the past few years have been tough on our kids and schools, and these investments are about making sure our kids have the educators, resources and skills, and opportunities they need to join the 21st-century workforce and become the next generation of leaders in our state.”  

Part of Gov. Evers’ historic $2.6 billion overall increase for K-12 schools, the governor’s budget includes $20 million over the biennium for early literacy and reading improvement. Specifically, the funding will support 56 regional coaches with half focused on evidenced-based literacy instructional practices and the other half focused on early reading instructional practices.  

Additionally, the governor’s budget provides $4.9 million for organizations that do auxiliary literacy work to augment the efforts of teachers in the classroom, including The Literacy Lab, Reach Out and Read, and the Reading Corps. 

The governor’s budget proposal also makes a $15 million investment to ensure students have strong financial literacy and mathematics curriculum, including through his $5 million “Do the Math” personal finance initiative, and provides more than $10 million to expand access to computer science education for kids to make sure Wisconsin schools are competitive in rapidly evolving computer sciences.  

More information regarding the governor’s historic $2.6 billion increase for K-12 schools is available here. Details regarding the governor’s proposals to improve literacy and reading outcomes for kids and invest in computer science and math education are available below.

Literacy and Improving Reading Outcomes
Gov. Evers’ is honoring his commitment to improving reading and literacy rates statewide by investing:  

    $10 million per year to fund comprehensive training for 28 new coaches in literacy and 28 new professionals in early reading instruction practices, designed to focus on school reading instruction improvement and early childhood; and   

    $4.9 million over the biennium to engage multiple stakeholders and strategies, including:  

        $1.4 million for The Literacy Lab;  

        $3 million for the Wisconsin Reading Corps; and

        $500,000 for Reach out and Read.   

This budget also provides $742,500 per year for Wisconsin Literacy to conduct adult literacy activities, including expert trainings, personalized consultations, and workforce connections.

Financial Literacy, Mathematics, and Computer Science
Gov. Evers believes that strong financial literacy and mathematics curriculum will provide a strong foundation for students’ financial futures. This budget invests in financial literacy and mathematics curriculum training by:

    Introducing a new “Do the Math” personal finance initiative, allocating $2.5 million per year to help schools start or improve programs around financial literacy curriculum and innovative instruction practices; and   

    Providing $10 million to the Milwaukee Math Partnership, a collaboration among the Milwaukee Public Schools district, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Area Technical College focused on the implementation of mathematics curriculum and professional development for current and aspiring Milwaukee teachers.

In 2022, Gov. Evers signed the National Governors Association Computer Science Compact, pledging to improve access to computer science instruction in Wisconsin’s K-12 schools. Gov. Evers understands that equitable access to computer science instruction is critical to student success and the state’s future. The governor’s plan includes:  

    Funding a statewide computer science education coordinator through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), allocating $20,000 for a computer science education task force, and providing $5 million annually for grants to school districts to access computer science curriculum, particularly around programming concepts and professional development; and     

    Creating a statutory requirement that each Wisconsin high school provide at least one computer science course.