According to district superintendent, state voucher expansion would divert necessary funds
Melrose-Mindoro Superintendent DelRoy DeBerg says an expansion of the state voucher program would pose as a challenge to school funding.
Are transfers of profits from the King Veterans Home hurting veterans’ care?
In an Oct. 26 op-ed for The Cap Times, state Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, criticized Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-run Legislature for failing to address a range of problems at two state-run facilities, including the King Veterans Home. Specifically, Shilling attributed the King nursing facility’s poor conditions and staff shortages to profits transferred from the home for other uses. “Instead of approving $18 million in facility repairs and upgrades, the governor diverted $12 million from the veterans nursing home fund to backfill budget deficits. Republican leaders are set to raid another $18 million from King over the next two years,” Shilling wrote.
Education cuts in Senate District 10
The Observatory fact-checked a tweet from Senate District 10 candidate Diane Odeen about education cuts. Her claims were only partly true, so we turned to a school in her district to gauge their significance.
Examining Wisconsin’s unemployment rates
The Observatory verified that Wisconsin has a 4.2 percent unemployment rate but Tom Tiffany’s District 12 tells a different story.
Olsen accurately claims $200 million K-12 funding increase, but it’s not all going toward educating students
Senator Luther Olsen accurately claimed the state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee secured $200 million more in K-12 funding than Walker’s initial 2015-17 budget called for, but a significant portion is used for property tax relief and private school vouchers.
In the 94th district, most schools are meeting state standards, but not all
Steve Doyle doesn’t believe the state voucher program should expand in his district because quality schools already exist. Are all schools in the 94th district meeting state expectations?
A closer look: State Medicaid spending in Wisconsin
After the enactment of the Affordable Care Act the Supreme Court ruled that individual states could choose whether or not to accept federal funds to increase Medicaid eligibility in their state. Including Wisconsin, 19 states have declined to explan Medicaid eligibility in their states in return for these federal Medicare dollars.
How bad are Wisconsin’s roads?
Funding for transportation projects in Wisconsin is always a contentious topic. Some areas of the state tend to get more attention than others, but when it comes to determining how bad Wisconsin’s roads really are, there answer is anything but clear cut.
Ayotte and Hassan battle over women’s health
Maggie Hassan defeated incumbent Kelly Ayotte for the U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire, but was she right about Ayotte’s record on reproductive health?
Sen. Kelly Ayotte accuses Gov. Maggie Hassan of being in “lockstep” with Hillary Clinton
Republican New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who split with Donald Trump, accused her challenger, Gov. Maggie Hassan, of unwavering support of the Democratic nominee for president. We check out that claim.