Monthly Archives: February, 2023
Most of Wisconsin’s Final Coronavirus School Stimulus Money Unspent
(The Center Square) – There is going to be a flurry of spending by schools across the state of Wisconsin this spring as school districts race to use the last of their coronavirus stimulus money.
The Institute for Reforming Government’s new transparency report shows that nearly two-thirds of Wisconsin’s $1.5 billion in ESSER, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, money remains unspent. Schools have until September of 2024 to spend or allocate that money, but the budgets for the 2023-2024 school year are being written now.
“We want to shine a light on how this money is being allocated,” Quinton Klabon, IRG senior research director, told The Center Square. “We want to refocus the conversation on whether districts are allocating it swiftly, are they putting it toward stuff that will move the needle for kids.”
So far, Klabon said, schools across Wisconsin have spent about half of their coronavirus money on kids and classrooms.
“Thirty-four percent has gone to teachers. That’s school-day teachers, that’s summer-school teachers, that’s after-school teachers, that’s bilingual for non-English speakers teachers,” Klabon explained. “We have 13% going to curriculum. And that’s not just books....”
Klabon said there is some worry that schools will have to find the money to keep all of those teachers once the federal money that’s been paying their salaries is gone.
But beyond that, Klabon said IRG is focused on spending this final round of federal coronavirus money because it may be the most important.
“ESSER I was basically hotspots and laptops, ESSER II was basically ‘Okay, the pandemic is still going-on. Let’s get them back in school,’ and now ESSER III is ‘Kids are behind, let’s catch them up.,’” Klabon said. “So the time to catch them up is now.”
This spring semester, and the next school year are milestones for many of the kids who were most impacted by Wisconsin’s coronavirus school shutdowns.
“Kindergartners who went home in March 2020 are about to wrap-up third grade. If you’re not on track with reading in third grade, everyone will tell you that is bad news and it’s really, really tough to get back on track,” Klabon said. “If you were in 9th grade when you went home in March of 2020, you’re about to graduate high school.”
Klabon said IRG wants to make sure the money is spent properly, and in ways that help the kids.
You can find IRG’s transparency tool for this federal money here.
Bill Would Prevent Chinese Interests In American Farmland
Two politicians representing almost the entirety of Washington east of the Cascades in Congress want to stop a particular group of foreign nationals from owning, controlling, or profiting from American agricultural land.
U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, have introduced the “Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act” in the House of Representatives aimed at keeping members of the Chinese Communist Party from owning American agricultural real estate.
“Agriculture is Eastern Washington’s number one industry. We simply cannot allow companies from China to lock down our resources and undermine our farmers and ranchers’ ability to feed the world,” said Rep. McMorris Rogers in a statement. “Americans should not be forced to rely on China for the food they put on the table. Prohibiting the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing farmland in the United States is a no-brainer that will support domestic food production and decrease our dangerous dependence on foreign adversaries.”
The text of the bill calls on the president to “take such actions as may be necessary to prohibit participation in programs administered by the Secretary of Agriculture by nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, or any agent, trustee, or fiduciary associated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China.”
The wording is broad and aimed at preventing not just CCP members, but all affiliated persons and entities from meddling in the free market of American agriculture.
It also bans the same entities and individuals from participating in any United States Department of Agriculture program, with the notable exception of food safety inspections.
If adopted into law, the bill could have significant repercussions.
A recent report, from the FDA entitled “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land” notes that by the beginning of 2020, China already owns or indirectly controls nearly $2 billion in US agricultural land.
Another report from the USDA notes that in the previous decade Chinese investment in agriculture has risen by over 1000% outside its own borders.
Currently only six states – Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Oklahoma – have some form of legislation on the books banning foreign nationals from owning agricultural land. The bill would extend those protections to the rest of the nation.
“The Chinese Communist Party is a threat to American democracy,” co-sponsor Rep. Newhouse said. “The United States is engaged in a great power struggle with the CCP, and we must respond with tough policies that will protect our farmland and food supply chain.”
The bill is worded to prevent future purchases. It is unclear how, if enacted, this legislation would affect current holdings by CCP-affiliated entities.
Experts Forecast a Turnaround in the Housing Market in 2023
UW Free Speech Survey: Half of Students Afraid to Speak, Third of Students Want Restrictions
(The Center Square) – There’s not a lot of confidence about free speech on University of Wisconsin campuses.
The university released the results of its free speech survey on Wednesday. The results show more than half of students are afraid to share their opinions on controversial topics, while a third of students want the UW to place restrictions on who can say what.
“More than half of our students, 57%, reported wanting to express their views about a controversial topic in class but decided not to,” UW President Jay Rothman said on Twitter. “Some worried that other students would disagree with their views, or that the instructor would find their views offensive, or that they would get a lower grade.”
The survey quizzed nearly 11,00 students at 13 UW campuses. It asked about free speech in the classroom, on campus, and what responsibility the university has to make sure invited speakers don’t say something that students find offensive.
“About one in three students think ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a great deal’ that administrators should disinvite such speakers,” Rothman explained.
The university held a forum on the results Wednesday, and some faculty members defended the idea of limiting who can speak to students.
"I think students are within their rights to protest speakers," Franciska Coleman, an assistant professor at UW-Madison's Law School, said at the forum. "I think the problem is that universities don't have a process for making sure it's not just a squeaky wheel, right, it's two students and the speaker is disinvited."
Lawmakers have been concerned about free speech at the University of Wisconsin for years.
State Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, said he was struck by how many students self-censor.
"The difference in how students feel on campus, whether they are conservative or liberal, that is probably the most dramatic difference in the results that are here in the survey,"
Rothman said he hopes to use the survey results as a “foundation” to “evaluate critically” speech on campus.
“We want to understand what the climate is on our campuses around freedom of expression, around concerns around self censorship, around students’ understanding about whether or not they can have a civil dialogue,” Rothman said.
12 Ways a Liberal Supreme Court Would Destroy Wisconsin
Latest Amazon Promo Codes Today [February 1, 2023]
Dan Kelly Won’t Commit to Endorsing Jennifer Dorow if She Wins Supreme Court Primary
(The Center Square) – The harsh feelings over Wisconsin’s last race for Supreme Court are casting a shadow over the current race for the high court.
Former Justice Dan Kelly, who is running for the court, said Tuesday night that he won’t endorse Judge Jenifer Dorow if she wins the primary for Supreme Court in three weeks.
“Before I endorse, I need to see proof of what a person means when they say they are a judicial conservative,” Kelly said at a judicial forum hosted by the Republican Women in Greater Milwaukee. “I need to see it in writing, I need to see it in speeches, I need to see it in opinions, I need to see it somewhere. Because I am not going to endorse any more unless there is that proof.”
Kelly said his endorsement of Justice Brian Hagedorn has him taking such a strict stand now.
“I took a risk,” Kelly added. “I endorsed him, I campaigned for him, and I helped him get on the Supreme Court. And when he came, it turned out he really wasn’t [a judicial conservative.]”
Hagedorn has become the swing vote on the court, and has ruled with the court liberal members several times.
Kelly’s comments go along with a theme of this year’s race, that Dorow may be another non-conservative Republican judge.
Dorow said she was conservative enough for other conservatives to seek her endorsement.
“My background and my experience, apparently, was good enough for each of them to ask for my endorsement at one point. I didn’t always give it, but I was asked,” Dorow said. “And now, apparently, it’s not good enough to get the endorsement back.”
Kelly served four years on the Wisconsin Supreme Court before being defeated in 2020.
Dorow has spent her career as a prosecutor and a judge. She most famously presided over the Waukesha Christmas Parade killer’s trial.
Kelly said voters can judge him based on his years of rulings as a judge and Supreme Court justice. Dorrow doesn’t have the same history.
Dorrow said her focus is not on splitting the Republican or conservative base, and not allowing the Supreme Court to flip to a liberal majority.
“I’m not going to take a chance to take somebody out, so the Left can win this election," Dorow added. “We need to win this.”
Kelly brushed off that criticism.
“My commitment today is the same as it’s been my entire career, and always will be. I will promote judicial conservatism in every way that I can.”
Voters will choose between Kelly and Dorow, and two liberal judges Everett Mitchell and Janet Protasiewicz in the primary on Feb. 21. The top two vote getters will then face off in April.
Biden’s Second Home Searched By FBI for Classified Documents
President Joe Biden's personal residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was searched by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe into classified documents, according to a statement released by Biden's personal attorney.
"Today, with the President's full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware," attorney Bob Bauer said in a statement. "Under DOJ's standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate."
Earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to lead the investigation into Biden after classified documents were found at Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center and at his home in Delaware.
CBS has reported that investigators found classified documents at a former private office of Biden's in Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice did a search of the president's main residence in Wilmington, Delaware, as part of the probe.
RNC Research, run by the Republican National Committee, responded on Twitter to the search.
"On January 12, the White House said SIX TIMES the search for classified documents was 'complete.' The FBI is currently searching Biden's beach house," RNC Research tweeted.
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, tweeted, "Being told, this was a preplanned, consensual search. This is not a search warrant that the FBI is executing. Big difference."
Vance compared the searches involving Biden for classified documents to that of former president Donald Trump.
"Biden let the FBI come in & search," Vance tweeted. "Prosecutors obtained a search warrant from a fed'l judge for Mar-a-Lago based on probable cause to believe evidence/fruits of a crime would be found on the premises."