Rep. Kooyenga caught lying about cuts to schools
Kooyenga hides voting record as reports surface of drinking on the job
Dale Kooyenga
BROOKFIELD – A Republican Senate candidate under fire for drinking on the job is either forgetting his own voting record or deliberately trying to hide it. In a public forum at the Elmbrook School District on Wednesday night, Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) claimed to have never cut funding for education as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, and further claimed that Republicans had not cut education funding at all since 2011 – despite a record of cutting millions from local K-12 schools and UW campuses over several years.
“After recent reports of Rep. Kooyenga drinking on the job, it’s possible he just has a hazy memory of his votes to cut school funding,” said Jenni Dye, SSDC executive director. “If Kooyenga can’t remember his own votes to cut funding from local schools and UW campuses, how can we trust him to make the right decisions moving forward?”
As a member of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, Rep. Kooyenga has pushed several proposals to cut school funding while targeting more tax breaks to millionaires and out-of-state corporations. In 2013, he voted to cut $100 million from University of Wisconsin schools. In 2015, he backed another $250 million UW cut. And in 2017, he voted to cut $10 million from K-12 schools and shift $30 million in school costs onto property taxpayers. As a result of these cuts, state general aid funding for public schools is lower this year than it was in the 2010-11 school year.
“How can Wisconsin families trust politicians like Dale Kooyenga who won’t come clean about their own records of cutting education?” asked Dye. “If Rep. Kooyenga won’t be honest with voters and take ownership for his decisions, it’s time to elect someone new. Julie Henszey knows the importance of our local schools and the responsibility that goes along with being an elected official. As a State Senator, Julie will make sure that our schools are being properly funded and our children are given every opportunity to succeed.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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I won’t criticize Kooyenga for drinking on the job. I can understand a desire for a cold beer on a hot afternoon in the state senate. I will, however, take him to task for allegedly forgetting his votes in the senate to cut funding for education. He has been among the most virulent, anti-intellectuals in the senate. He needs to be removed from the senate before he does more damage to students in this state.
I am reminded of Senator K stealing and trying to hide a campaign sign he did not like, of his prevarications on being asked about this act … Mr. K could perhaps be more comfortable out of public office, as a simple citizen of Brookfield, where he could spend long summer days with his family and the infamous mosquitoes there – where he would be less subject to criticism for having an extra beer.