Mental Health Funding in the State Budget

By Dee Pettack, Executive Director, School Administrators Alliance

During Governor Evers’ 2023 State of the State address, he declared 2023 as the Year of Mental Health, calling mental and behavioral health a “burgeoning crisis” affecting the state and Wisconsin’s kids, families, and workforce.   

Using federal funds, Governor Evers and the Department of Public Instruction invested $30 Million to expand school based mental health supports to help address the vast needs of our students and increase overall student wellness in our school communities.  Under Gov. Evers’ “Get Kids Ahead” original initiative, every district that opted into the program received a minimum of $20,000, with the remaining allocation distributed on a per pupil basis. 

The 2023-25 State Budget provided additional funding for mental health support for our students.  It is modeled after the original “Get Kids Ahead Initiative” however, it does not provide a minimum amount per district and will instead be distributed solely on a per pupil basis. The $25 million in funding for school based mental health support will go out on a per pupil basis over the biennium (annual amount divided by total current year enrollments* in school districts and in Independent Charter Schools).  The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has estimated that in the first year of the budget school districts will receive an estimated $31 per pupil in the school year 2023-24.