Statement from Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle of Onalaska in voting against two-year budget

On Thursday, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a two-year budget that now heads to Gov. Tony Evers desk.

For state Rep. Steve Doyle of Onalaska, it was, what he called a “lackluster budget that missed the mark on education, childcare, school safety, and much more.”

Doyle put out a full statement later Thursday that says:

“Today I voted ‘no’ on a budget that fails our children. I voted no on an education plan that continues to underfund our public schools while simultaneously giving away millions to private voucher schools. I voted no on a bill that ignores our childcare crisis. And I voted no on a bill that defunds the Office of School Safety. Today should be a day of celebration, instead it’s just a disappointment.

“My colleagues and I were handed an unprecedented surplus – $7 billion dollars to be exact. And instead of turning around and making serious investments in our priorities, we took that money and gave it to the millionaires and billionaires, leaving just crumbs for working families. We should have made substantial investments in our education system, instead we failed to even keep up with inflation. We should have made significant investments in childcare to stave off the ongoing crisis, instead we spent nothing. We should have funded the Office of School Safety to ensure our kids are safe at school, instead we took away every dollar allotted to it. We should have made investments in our University system to grow our workforce, instead we cut the University of Wisconsin budget. Unfortunately, instead of taking our responsibility seriously and passing meaningful investments in our priorities we have nibbled around the edges or actively made things worse.

“My colleagues and I proposed a series of amendments to try to create a budget that adequately reflects our values. Unfortunately, even uncontroversial amendments that we offered were simply rejected out of hand. It’s a sad day in Wisconsin when we can’t even come together for the best interest of our children. Because of my commitment to protecting quality education and doing right by our kids, I had no choice but to vote against this budget.”