The Office of School Safety was created under the state’s Department of Justice in 2018, and in 2020 expanded to create a 24 hour tip line to collect and document anonymous threats against schools across the state.
According to a recent report, that office received nearly 4,000 contacts from May 2022 through May of 2023, most often about bullying incidents or suicidal threats.
While that office currently has a staff of 16 paid mostly through federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, last week Republicans in the Joint Finance Committee dramatically cut their funding, leaving the office with only 3.8 available positions, reports the Wisconsin Examiner.
Democrats, including Attorney General Josh Kaul, are lambasting the cut, saying that it will end its ability to collect reports of threats to school safety.
Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) sits on the Joint Finance Committee, and spoke with WORT Producer Nate Wegehaupt about those cuts, and about what's on deck this week for the budget writing committee.
Photo courtesy: Ivan Aleksic / UNSPLASH
