Republicans respond to DOJ request to fund Office of School Safety

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Editors Note: On Monday, June 26, 2023, The Wisconsin Law Journal’s Managing Editor Steve Schuster contacted every member on Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee who voted against additional funding for the Office of School Safety to find out why.

By Steve Schuster
[email protected]

In anticipation of the Wisconsin Legislature addressing school safety in the coming days, national school safety advocates urged Wisconsin lawmakers on Monday to fully fund the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety, as Republicans pushed back.

“The Joint Finance Committee voted to continue funding the program at its current state funding levels in the upcoming budget,” said Sen. Duey Stroebel (R) during an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday.

“Additionally, JFC invested $2.5 million for Critical Incident Mapping for the remaining schools that have not participated yet,” Stroebel noted.

According to Stroebel, the one-time federal COVID money given to Wisconsin was only temporary.

“One-time federal COVID money flooded into Wisconsin, which ultimately lead to the program’s expansion over the past couple years. The attorney general knew the federal funds would expire when he took them. The federal government is able to print money and run on debt – Wisconsin cannot do either,” Stroebel said.

However, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, none of the Office of School Safety positions requested were created using the federal ARPA funding.

“Instead, most (11 of 14) were created with STOP School Violence Act funding. That said, most of these positions were extended using ARPA funding when the original grants expired,” Wisconsin Department of Justice officials told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday.

“Regardless, Wisconsin has a historic budget surplus, and the Office of School Safety can be fully funded over the course of the upcoming biennium for less than one-tenth of 1% of the surplus. This is an investment the legislature should make to help keep our schools safe,” Wisconsin DOJ officials added.

In response to the Wisconsin Law Journal’s inquiry, a spokeswoman for Republican Sen. Joan Ballweg said the committee is committed to investing in school safety.

“The Office of School Safety was not defunded by the Joint Committee on Finance. The committee invested in school safety and maintained base funding for the Office of School Safety. Base funding for the office is $556,500. The funding provided to the Office of School Safety keeps the program going and provides support and assistance to Wisconsin schools. The committee also invested $2.5 million through the Department of Justice to complete the final expansion of critical incident mapping. The critical incident mapping program helps law enforcement respond to any issues that may arise at a school,” said Leah Peterson, communications director for Ballweg.

Earlier this month, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul released a statement critical of the Joint Committee on Finance vote on the Wisconsin Department of Justice budget.

“There is nothing more important than keeping our kids safe, and yet the Joint Finance Committee took action today that would gut the Office of School Safety. Without prompt legislative action to remedy this issue, core services that office has provided — including the 24/7 tip line that has received thousands of contacts — will end,” said Kaul.

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal earlier in June, Fond Du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, who is also president of the Wisconsin District Attorney’s Association, said he is grateful for JFC’s $10 million increase, which includes funds for toxicology. Toney has been long advocating for additional state crime labs toxicology resources.

The JFC motion approved funding three additional forensic toxicologists at the state crime labs (one less than proposed by Evers).

“I’m grateful for the Joint Finance Committee’s continued investment in public safety with their approval of additional funding for toxicology positions at the crime labs. I expect this will improve public safety by reducing the turnaround time for drug panel testing in blood samples. This will allow cases to be prosecuted more efficiently and help vindicate the innocent. This is especially important as we continue to see overdose levels at extraordinary levels and to combat the dangers of drugged driving,” Toney previously said.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, Although JFC’s approved motion allocates a $10 million boost for Wisconsin DOJ’s budget, that is only a fraction of the $92.2 million that Evers had proposed in his budget. As federal funding is slated to run out for school safety, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had also allocated funds in his state budget, but that was cut by JFC.

In response, Kaul has been traveling Wisconsin advocating for school safety.

All four JFC democrats voted against the motion (to not add OSS funds), which was introduced by Republicans Rep. Born and Sen. Marklein.

Members of the JFC:

Representative Born (Co-Chair) (R – Beaver Dam)

Senator Marklein (Co-Chair) (R – Spring Green)

Representative Katsma (Vice-Chair) (R – Spring Green)

Senator Stroebel (Vice-Chair) (R – Saukville)

Senator Felzkowski (R – Irma)

Senator Ballweg (R – Markesan)

Senator Testin (R – Stevens Point)

Senator Wimberger (R – Green Bay)

Senator L. Johnson (D – Milwaukee)

Senator Roys (D – Madison)

Representative Zimmerman (R – River Falls)

Representative Rodriguez (R – Oak Creek)

Representative Kurtz (R – Wonewoc)

Representative Dallman (R – Green Lake)

Representative Goyke (D – Milwaukee)

Representative McGuire (D – Kenosha)

To view the full motion click here.