Wisconsin
State Government
Governor
Tony Evers (D)
State Senate
10
Democrats,
22
Republicans
State House
35
Democrats,
41
Republicans
Economic well-being - Wisconsin
Extreme poverty rate
0.06
Food insecurity
0.118
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.251
Poverty rate
10.3%
Unemployment rate
3.1
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.3
Poverty by demographic - Wisconsin
Child poverty rate
0.12
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
N/A
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
67,000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
85,000
Senior poverty rate
10.0 %
Women in poverty
2,915,466
The Capital Times, December 26, 2012: (Op-Ed) Deficit reduction should not sacrifice our children
"Last month, Wisconsin was awarded $22.7 million from the federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, one of five states to receive grants this year. But failure to avert the fiscal cliff would result in 8 percent cuts in Head Start and a portion of the funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, programs key to ensuring that low-income children have access to high-quality early education."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 29, 2012: U.S. delays Head Start contracts, giving SDC new worries
"Head Start provides educational and health services to preschool age children from low-income families. SDC's $21 million program serves 3, 000 children at 33 sites, 10 run by the anti-poverty agency and the others run by delegates or community agencies. MPS currently has 1, 000 Head Start seats and a grant of $6 million funded through June 2013, district spokesman Tony Tagliavia said."
Oshkosh Northwestern, November 28, 2012: Family focus helps Merrill Elementary cope with rising needs
"The rankings also consider factors such as graduation rates and achievement gaps, which are differences in the test scores of students considered advantaged or not advantaged due to poverty, race or disability. But Merrill's population of students considered to be disadvantaged is so high the state couldn't give the school an achievement gap score, Director of Curriculum and Assessment Julie Mosher said. The school's typical' student population is too small to determine statistically reliable data."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 12, 2012: Evers reintroduces proposal to boost state aid to schools
"Evers' request aims to address discrepancies in taxing by incorporating a poverty weighting factor of 30% to account for family income. Currently, state funding for a district hinges largely on its property values. That could significantly benefit places such as the School District of Rhinelander, business manager Marta Kwiatkowski said."
Green Bay Press-Gazette, October 28, 2012: School administrators point out flaws in report card system
"Several principals and other school administrators are urging the state to re-examine the way it scores schools on new report cards after pointing out shortcomings they believe unfairly hurt districts with high poverty or large numbers of minorities or disabled students."
Green Bay Press-Gazette, October 11, 2012: Teachers provide more than lessons to students
"As the number of students from low-income families has increased in area schools, teachers frequently reach into their own pockets to buy school supplies, food and even clothes for kids that come to school empty handed. Experts say local teachers spend an average of $700 to $1,000 a year to buy items for students and their classrooms."