Dear Friends, For the first time, our cash on hand topped $1 billion. With that money, we are able to fund education at record levels, invest in priorities like roads, healthcare, and provide a tax cut for the middle class.   We didn’t get here by accident. Before Republicans took over, our state faced a more than $3 billion deficit. Taxes were going up and businesses were going away. Through careful budgeting, reforms, and tax relief, our state is in great financial shape. In fact, our rainy day fund is also at it's highest point ever - $649 million! Republicans also stopped more than $1 billion in tax hikes Governor Evers tried to get in his budget. We will not let Governor Evers and the Democrats take us back to the days of high taxes and high unemployment. Our area schools are once again getting national attention for their excellence! According to Niche.com, Whitefish Bay (#2), Mequon-Thiensville (#3), Hamilton (#11), Grafton (#18), Menomonee Falls (#20), and Germantown (#25) are among the best school districts in the entire state. The website also gave high marks for many of our local schools as well. Congratulations! As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov. On, Wisconsin!

Character Education

This week, the Senate Committee on Education approved my bill to help fund the teaching of character education in our schools. The bill is now ready for a vote in front of the full of State Senate. Character education is about creating a culture of respect and understanding in schools. Values such as respect, justice, civic virtue, citizenship, and responsibility for self and others are crucial in our society. Watch the video above to see Brown Deer Superintendent Dr. Deb Kerr talk about how character education is improving outcomes.

Putting More Money into Classrooms

The Education Committee unanimously approved two bills I am working on with State Representative Mary Felzkowski of Irma to help school districts save money. One would allow school districts to engage in "whole grade sharing." Some school districts find they don't have enough students to fill a class for a grade level.  Our bill would encourage different districts to swap grade levels when needed by creating a financial incentive of $150 per student. Our second bill will create incentives to encourage districts to streamline administrative costs by sharing IT, HR directors, and administrators. Both bills were ideas from the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding, which I had the honor of serving on last summer. Both bills are now ready for a vote in full State Senate.

Blue Books Available

Fall Color Report

Click the picture above for the full fall color report of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is Still Winning!

Did you know? Wisconsin is ranked in the top ten for nation for women entrepreneurs. Our last budget started with a surplus of more than $1 billion. By 2021, we will have cut taxes by more than $13 billion since 2011. Wisconsin is finally out of the top ten highest taxed states in the nation. Wisconsin’s GDP was 2.9% for the first quarter of 2019. That’s higher than Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Michigan. For all of 2018, Wisconsin’s economy grew 2.5%, the best year of growth for the state since 2010. The property tax bill on a median valued home is lower now than it was back in 2010.  Our labor force participation rate is five points higher than the national average. WalletHub ranks Wisconsin as the 6th best state to live in. Wisconsin ranks number one in the Midwest for Health Care Access and Patient Safety. CNBC ranks Wisconsin as the 17th best state in the nation for business. According to the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, the income for a median family of four in Wisconsin grew 13.1% since 2010. Nationally, incomes grew 10.7%.

Around the 8th...

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