(Photo by Anna Ihland / Wisconsin State Legislature)
MADISON, Wis. — State Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R–Pleasant Prairie) is backing a sweeping package of voluntary school reform bills she says will help districts facing shrinking student populations, rising operational costs, and growing pressure on property taxpayers.
Nedweski voted this week to advance a series of bills that incentivize consolidation, expand academic offerings through inter-district collaboration, and provide financial tools aimed at reducing reliance on costly referendums in districts with half-empty school buildings.
“For more than a decade, nearly 70% of Wisconsin school districts have seen enrollment decline, resulting in more than 53,000 fewer students statewide,” Nedweski said in the release. “As birth rates continue to fall, many districts have become increasingly reliant on operational referendums just to keep half-empty buildings open.”
She argued that Wisconsin’s already-high property taxes will continue rising — a burden she attributes in part to Gov. Tony Evers’ most recent tax package — unless lawmakers empower school districts to rethink their long-term structure. The bills, she said, give districts “a different path forward.”
What the Bills Do
The reform package includes five separate measures:
- A 1000% increase in per-pupil consolidation aid for districts that voluntarily merge.
- Grants for districts to conduct consolidation feasibility studies.
- A statewide school district demographics study to help plan for long-term enrollment trends.
- Grants to support whole-grade sharing agreements between districts.
- Additional aid for consolidated districts to equalize mill rates and prevent major tax disparities — often a key obstacle in merger discussions.
Nedweski said these changes would help districts reduce duplicative services, share staff, increase teacher pay, and offer more AP classes, world languages, career and technical programs, and special education resources.
“Buildings Don’t Educate Kids — Teachers Do”
Nedweski emphasized that the reforms are voluntary and designed to expand options, not pressure districts into consolidation.
“Buildings don’t educate kids—teachers do,” she said. “When districts are able to collaborate, reduce overhead, and put more resources into our classrooms—everybody wins.”
She also said the package respects local control and gives communities the flexibility to plan responsibly for the future.
Who Nedweski Represents
Nedweski represents Wisconsin’s 32nd Assembly District, which includes communities across Kenosha County and portions of Walworth County, such as Pleasant Prairie, Paddock Lake, Salem Lakes, Bristol, Twin Lakes, Genoa City, Bloomfield, Randall, and parts of Kenosha and Lake Geneva.
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13 Responses
Great pitch though voluntary reform bills is a political joke IMO. Odds of lazy union school teachers willing to cooperate are slim, same as KUSD Admin. Buildings don’t educate students, teachers do is hilarious too. It’s a indoctrination camp, most teacher do not teach. Why are our graduates such low achievers, many who can’t read, write or do basic math and are passed. Have a better idea get rid of the teacher’s union, or shut down KUSD. Been a tax scam for decades.
Frankly, this sounds like a political script written by Sammy, complete political bullshit seeking self promotion that will result in nothing.
Hard to argue with anything you said.
I applaud Amanda for not sitting on her ass but this bill needs more.
School consolidation means little savings. IMO
Other than a consolidated school board of maybe a few less people and maybe one or two upper administration people there isn’t much when school budgets are in the multi millions.
And what administrator would want to take on being in charge of two schools for the same money ?
You fire one administrator and pay the remaining one more. Where is the savings ?
Just less supervision of the people who take care of our children.
This is ok but don’t force any two schools to consolidate against their will
Agreed, which is why it’s a very bad idea to be giving such a monetary award to ones that do consolidate. If there are real savings to be had, wouldn’t that be rewarded enough? This sounds more like, “well, we have to do SOMETHING”.
A couple of concerns here; successful districts like Union Grove, Westosha, Badger in LG have little incentive to merge with less successful like Kenosha or Racine. I don’t see RUSD or KUSD as working collaboratively together. What citizen would want their taxes adjusted to support another district. Who would want to absorb MPS? Not too long ago, there were talks about breaking MPS up into smaller districts. There are many inefficiencies in education mainly because they refuse to believe true business models can work in education. Case in point; several area districts have had to or are looking to reduce the number of schools because of enrollment declines. Educators and families fight that. The business world sees that as not profitable, so they close poor performing stores. Boom, done. Education, I found does not embrace proven methods like CQI to monitor performance and make changes when necessary. Example: Curriculum changes on a dime, look at the money invested in reading programs that have downgraded reading skills. WI has finally returned to phonics. Costly to do this. Amanda thank-you, but please focus on the legislation to get grooming defined and holding teachers legally accountable for grooming and holding administrators accountable for responding to concerns effectively. DPI has fallen short on that one. Uderly wants improved software for licensing. The state recently, upgraded the Department of Professional services licensing system. It handles ALL other licensing in the state, move educators licensing to them. That would be a cost savings.
Westosha, Wilmot. Two western High Schools
Then you have the Feeder Grade Schools
Brighton Bristol Lakewood Paris Randall Riverview Salem Trevor-Wilmot Wheatland
Tell me any of these communities that want to have the others have any say in their school decisions !?!
Even the fact that Salem Lakes technically encompasses three of these schools means nothing.
Anyone remember the Trevor-Wilmot Consolation ?
Or how that was talked about for over 50 years before it finally happened ? I do !
Wilmot was such a small school. Both in population and building. You know that little building on the hill at the Kenosha County Fair Grounds ? It’s used as an indoor Flea Market ? That was Wilmots Grade School. Ask anyone who is 60 or older about it.
Consolation is for communities that have half empty school buildings, not excess administrations.
Even at that as populations decline and expand so does the school children numbers. In my small subdivision 30 years ago we had over 20 children on two streets with three bus stops. Today it’s 4 children and they moved the bus stops to just one at the end of the street.
Yet as I look around, in the next 10 to 15 years, all of the homes around mine, including mine will have new owners. New owners with families. Maybe not the three and four children households we had back then but one or two kids per house will get our bus stop count back up. And kids in school up too !
It is generational changes that schools and their buildings have to whether. Not ceding local control that is so hard to do and even harder to undo.
Amanda. Just saw you on the TV talking about this.
Sure it’s a program to have available but, not for many in your district if any at all.
Move on to what another commenter said, better harsher Grooming Laws. With children as young as 5 having their own phone, access to them by bad characters is easier than ever.
Should a child below 10 have a phone ?
Should parents monitor their children’s phone usage and behavior ?
These are questions and challenges that each family decides. And for those that make bad choices and the Groomers that exploit them, let’s make Grooming a major felony penalty !!
Even attempts at Grooming can effect a child’s psyche for a lifetime. It needs to be punished more. A lot more.
Major tax disparities are a problem due to actions in Madison from 30 years ago. Capping revenues at then existing levels. Madison did that with little warning and not taking into consideration fiscally responsible schools versus non responsible schools. No adjustments just locked in levies.
We were and still are penalized for being good with tax money then. Fix those funding disparities !!
Sharing Between Schools ?
What does that mean in cost ? Bussing children to neighboring school buildings ? Or sharing teachers?
Is a music teacher supposed to drive from one school to another ? I think that’s already being done.
And what about transportation cost ??
District bussing cost are double from 10 years ago. Even less than ten. These are fixed cost that can’t be shaved as much as you think.
Amanda. Revisit the school funding mechanisms from the 1990s and before. Let’s get back to the state raising the per child numbers so they are equal across the board. Let individual districts make up the rest for their affluence or lack thereof.
Can Amanda run for executive, we need real conservative’s in Kenosha.
Unfortunately, we will probably run into the same problem😕
She is Sam’s pet. Wouldn’t help
Leave Amanda alone to stay in Madison.
She wouldn’t run against Sam though if Sam loses next round I’m sure Amanda would run the round after that.
Though that’s assuming that the next executive is a Democrat. We still need to primary Sam with a strong Conservative to do better.
Just Homeschool!
Finding corruption in the teacher’s union & KUSD, almost as rare as finding sand in the desert!
If all government corruption were to be eliminated then our 38 TRILLION dollar deficit would be eliminated also.
With all these highly educated administrators running schools (in cities, not rural)- why can they never pinpoint why students aren’t learning?
1- Is it the building that prevents the learning?
2- is it poor teaching that prevents the learning?
3- is it the family life/culture of the students that prevents the learning?
4- is there something defect in the students?
You’d think amongst all the masters, doctorates, and administrative licenses in these large districts someone could pinpoint the deficits…
All they can ever figure out is they need more money.