Rep. Christian Phelps

As someone who serves on the Assembly Education Committee, I see firsthand the crisis facing Wisconsin public schools. Our districts need meaningful, sustainable support — not a fiscally reckless deal that would have blown a nearly $3 billion hole in the state budget while offering inadequate long-term education funding.

That’s why I voted no, and why I coauthored AB 1176 from the start of these negotiations. Our bill directly addressed the urgent needs facing public schools and property taxpayers in a fiscally responsible way — without jeopardizing Wisconsin’s future budgets.

Wisconsinites deserve solutions that strengthen schools, protect taxpayers, and keep our state on stable financial footing.

Article in comments. ⬇️

https://thetap.fm/news/2026/05/18/eau-claire-education-phelps-town-hall

State Representative Christian Phelps hosted a town hall for Eau Claire area residents at Chippewa Valley Technical College over the weekend.

Questions from residents at the town hall largely focused on public school funding after Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu introduced a significant piece of legislation last week. Education funding has become a common issue in Wisconsin over the last decade, as school districts are constantly forced to propose operational referendums to meet their budget needs.

Districts often face staffing and programming cuts if those referendums fail. Even school districts like Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls that had previous operational referendums approved are now cutting staff as that referendum funding expires and other costs like employee health insurance increase.

State Representative Phelps, who sits on the Assembly’s education committee, explained his decision to vote against that legislation and highlighted a previously introduced education bill as a better option.

“The rebate checks I think have not gotten enough coverage as far as how much money they were and what they would do,” he said. “That was the biggest dealbreaker in this proposal. So you know AB 1176, to be clear, would spend a lot less money than the proposal we got this year, but it would spend twice as much on public education as the bill we got. So this really was not a school funding bill, it was mostly a tax rebate bill.”

State Representative Phelps also highlighted that the rebate checks in the bill proposed last week would not have sent $300 to each individual in the state, but up to $300 based on income.

He noted that while higher income Wisconsin residents would receive that $300, those living in poverty and seniors on fixed incomes would likely not have received anything in the rebates. State Representative Phelps also says residents making between $15,000 and $100,000 per year would almost certainly get less than the full $300.

“To blow a $3 billion hole in our state budget for that sort of one time impact where middle and upper class people are getting a one time check for $300 that they need less than people in poverty, that was not sound fiscal policy for me,” he said. “And it would not have reversed the immediate problems in education because it didn’t offer enough money.”

The State Legislature voted on that bill last week, where it passed in the State Assembly but failed in the State Senate with an 18-15 vote.

The proposal we voted on this week was too expensive to absorb--and that is why it failed--but that doesn't change the fact that our public schools are in desperate need of support. Good ideas are still on the table, and I am always willing to discuss reasonable ways to get them across the finish line for the immediate relief our public schools and working class taxpayers need.

Wisconsin Democrats continue to push a school funding proposal that increases aid by $1.3 million and consciously avoids funding private schools.

Read the full story at the link in comments 👇🏼

✏️: Salina Heller

I will not be supporting the deal that is currently being negotiated between retiring leaders Speaker Vos, Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu, and Governor Evers. Even though I represent school districts that, thanks to years of neglect, desperately need money, the current deal is irresponsible and reckless. Here are some of the main claims that you’ll hear about the deal and the truths according to the Fiscal Bureau, the agency that crunches the numbers:

Claim 1: Individuals will receive a $300 check; married couples will receive $600.
Facts: 1.36 million Wisconsinites will not receive any rebate at all, and some checks will be as little as $10 (or even less). The poor and anyone whose only income is social security will get nothing, and people could get tiny checks depending on their tax liability. This policy disproportionately benefits people who don’t need nearly as much help, including 8,700 households that make $1mil or more per year. Among married-joint file households, 72.7% of rebates will go to people with incomes over $100,000.

This provision will cost us nearly $1 bil but will fail to help the people who need us most. This is bad public policy.

Claim 2: This deal will meaningfully cut your property taxes.
Facts: For the median value home in the state--a staggering $312,000,--property owners will see $107 in savings for the entirety of 2027. If your taxes are paid in an escrow account, that’s $8.91 / month, and you won’t start seeing the impact until January 2027.

Claim 3: This is a responsible way to address school deficits and to provide funding for public schools.
Facts: This bill puts us in a structural deficit in the outgoing years, which will make it much harder for us to actually fix what’s broken in our public school system with Democratic majorities, especially given that economists are predicting slower economic growth next year. Oh, and this bill gives voucher schools an additional $20 million.

This bill is a reckless use of tax payer money at a time when we need to be careful and strategic.

Evers is getting played. Again.

MADISON, WI – State Representative Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) released the following statement on the announcement of a $1.8 billion “surplus deal” between retiring leaders Speaker Vos, Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu, and Governor Evers:

“Wisconsinites have been clear with elected leaders all year that they need serious, structural relief on property taxes and more support for their children’s public school classrooms. That’s why Assembly Democrats united behind my proposal, Assembly Bill 1176, to fix the mistakes made in Republican budgets, reduce property taxes, and pick up the tab without making a massive public expenditure in an uncertain economic climate under the Trump Administration.

Unlike outgoing politicians, working class Wisconsinites have to live with the long-term consequences of today’s decisions. We deserve better than an election-year deal negotiated behind closed doors. Speaker Robin Vos, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, and Governor Tony Evers are all retiring from Wisconsin politics, yet they are proposing extreme fiscal decisions that will shape our state long after they are gone.

On education, this deal falls woefully short of what Wisconsin kids and communities need. It would only invest about $600 million, which is less than half of what Assembly Democrats proposed for general and special education. This proposal also increases spending on privately operated schools, and leaves so little in the state’s reserves that all public services – including public education – would still be on the chopping block in the near future.

This proposal offers one-time ‘rebates’ in place of long-term investments to people’s real-life pain. It would drain Wisconsin’s resources at a time of immense instability.

Meanwhile, AB 1176, our legislation to provide $455 million in general school aid, and $845 million to bring special education reimbursement to 60% – continues to sit on the shelf, even though it’s the only proposal providing structural property tax relief and sustainable public school funding..

AB 1176 would directly address the root cause of rising property taxes by increasing state support for public schools and reducing the pressure on local taxpayers. Instead of relying on temporary rebate checks and one-time political compromises, our proposal stakes out a responsible long-term funding model that lowers property taxes while supporting neighborhood public schools.

Communities across Wisconsin have made it clear that they are tired of watching teachers cut, referendums increase, and property taxes rise year after year. They want serious solutions.

If Republican leaders and Governor Evers are serious about helping our residents and lowering property taxes, they should immediately allow AB 1176 through the legislative process. Monday’s announcement instead cements Republican leaders’ and Governor Evers’s legacies as retiring politicians who have shut the public and most legislators out of their swan song, risking the state’s resources when public services are already under attack in the Trump economy.

AB 1176 is the only proposal which would increase state investment in preK-12 public education, reduce local property taxes, provide sustainable relief for Wisconsin homeowners and renters, and save money in the state coffers all at once. It is fiscally responsible, and it responds directly to the realities in our neighborhoods. It was my line in the sand, and it should have been the Governor’s, too.”

Over the past several weeks, I've been honored to join my colleagues State Representative Vincent Miresse, State Rep. Karen DeSanto, and WI State Representative Angelina Cruz in conversations with local communities all over the state about the relationship between state funding for public schools and your property taxes. We've been joined by school administrators, school board members, parents, educators, and concerned taxpaying citizens in urban, suburban, and rural districts all over Wisconsin.

It's abundantly clear that the unsustainable rise in housing costs through property taxes, and the steady loss of services for kids in public schools, are weighing heavily on our neighbors. Wisconsinites of all political backgrounds are demanding responsible state budgeting that uses our resources to fund public school classrooms and provide serious relief on housing costs by lowering local property taxes.

Our proposal, Assembly Bill 1176, responds directly to that pain. It already has the support of every single Assembly Democrat, and the support of a wide and diverse nonpartisan cross-section of Wisconsinites who want structural relief for these structural challenges. It deserves action immediately, before another wave of referendums, property tax hikes, and school closures takes hold.

The missing pieces in this puzzle are the three leaders in the capitol who actually have the power to move a proposal like ours forward. Governor Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu need to hear from you if you want this proposal to become reality. Wisconsin has a $2.5 billion "surplus" due to the Republican Legislature's failure to pay its bills for public schools. Our proposal uses only half of that "surplus" to pick up the tab and fix the problem. It is the singular proposal that would fund public schools, support special education students, reduce property taxes, and save money in the state coffers all at once.

If the leaders who run our state want to do the right thing, the plan is already there. No gimmicks, no one-time political maneuvers, no waste. The problem is clear and the solution is on the table. Assembly Bill 1176 is that solution.

See you tonight in Baraboo!

After three failed referendums in our district, coupled with rising property taxes, this conversation is necessary. Please join us and come together to work toward a solution to fund our schools and lower your property taxes.

I hope to see you there!