Statehouse News Online | Crowd Cheers as Walker Signs $66-Billion Budget into Law

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Alissa Smith

GREEN BAY — In a show of solidarity with businesses and supporters, Gov. Scott Walker on Sunday signed into law his first, two-year budget before a cheering crowd at a manufacturing facility here.

“Our balanced budget makes tough choices while also providing a path to recovery and prosperity for

our state and our people,” Walker said during Sunday's bill signing at Fox Valley Metal-Tech Inc. before a crowd of about 100.

“Through honest budgeting, we are providing an alternative to the reckless tricks and gimmicks of the past,” the governor said.

Fred Momique, interim president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

“I think it’s the beginning of a new era of fiscal conservatism in Wisconsin with sound budgeting. It will be good for business in the state,” Momique said.

Walker said the$66-billion two-year budget will end up benefiting middle-class working Wisconsinites through, for example, a property-tax freeze the governor said will save the average homeowner $700 a year. It also closes a $3-billion deficit.

Despite claims to the contrary from teachers and unions, Walker said the budget will help public education.

The funding package “takes unprecedented steps to help reform and enhance education in our state," he said.

"We give parents more options through choice and charter schools," Walker said. "We provide the

resources, so we can actually track student progress and make informed policy decisions based on data.”

Susan Mitchell, president of School Choice Wisconsin, said the move is a step in the right direction.

“This is a game changer for Wisconsin — for the first time, parents outside Milwaukee will reap the benefits of educational choice,” Mitchell said in a written statement.

School Choice Wisconsin is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that "seeks to ensure an honest debate about school choice by providing accurate information on the impact of school choice on families, communities, and schools," according to its website.

As the governor was beginning the budget-signing ceremony, the Indianapolis, Ind.-based Foundation for Educational Choice released a statement, applauding Walker's expansion of school choice.

“This is incredible news that I know would make Milton and Rose Friedman smile,” said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. “The Friedmans understood the importance of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to the cause of educational freedom for all children, and they long hoped it would be expanded to include other cities. Today, thanks to the tremendous leadership of Gov. Walker and the state Legislature, that hope is fulfilled.”

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice supports the expansion of the school-choice program, and for more than a dozen years, the foundation has conducted research into the effectiveness of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and provided funding to support the local efforts spearheaded by School Choice Wisconsin.

“The expansion of school choice to Racine is a huge victory, and we are grateful to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice … for their support of our efforts there,” Mitchell said in the statement.

Walker said the budget also will help all sectors of Wisconsin's economy create jobs, though his Sunday appearance highlighted manufacturing jobs.

Fox Valley Metal-Tech Inc. hosted a campaign stop for Walker, when he was running for governor. The company is a custom steel and aluminum parts manufacturer.

State Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, said he came to Green Bay from Hartford, a two-hour drive, to witness the first-year governor sign the budget.

“I believe this budget can help us here in Wisconsin lead the nation in job creation,” Pridemore said.

Scores of protesters, however, took exception with Walker and the budget. About 100 people lined the streets outside of the Fox Valley Metal-Tech Inc. complex to express their disdain for the governor's spending plan.

Amy Beloit, a middle and high school Spanish teacher in Gillette, said the biggest problem with Walker’s budget was that lawmakers didn't listen to the public.

“We’re not happy with the situation,” Beloit said. “I think the more we can let people know that we’re not happy with the situation — that we don’t approve of what’s going on — and we’re not just going to sit down and let this happen, it can’t hurt.”

C.G. Terrell, of Madison, who works for the Autonomous Solidarity Foundation, said that for his organization, "the biggest problem with the budget is really the manner in which it’s been passed.”

The Autonomous Solidarity Organization "is a community-based grassroots (nonprofit) organization built through the friendships forged during the occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol in February of 2011," according to its website.

Terrell said lawmakers didn't adequately discuss budget items, creating distrust in the public arena.

“There are a lot of individual issues I have with the budget. Whether it be BadgerCare, food share programs or education,” Terrell said. “But those are all things that I feel like they could be solved, if we were discussing and talking to people.”

Kevin Binversive contributed to this report.