STRATEGY | King For Governor

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

Recommended Improvements

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Wisconsin People
Over Politics

LITERACY CRISIS
• 69% of Wisconsin 4th graders are not reading at grade level, the worst performance since 1998
• Dr. King will mandate evidence-based, science-of-reading instruction across all 421 Wisconsin school districts
• Deploy 500 Reading Intervention Specialists in the lowest-performing districts, funded in the first 90 days
• Every student not reading by 3rd grade gets a mandatory Personal Reading Plan with intensive tutoring, no exceptions
• Restore NAEP-aligned testing standards, end the practice of lowering benchmarks to hide failing outcomes

CLOSING THE RACIAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP
• Wisconsin has the widest Black-white reading gap in the nation, 45 points between 4th graders
• Only 9% of Milwaukee Public School 4th graders read proficiently, Dr. King will treat this as a state emergency
• Publish a quarterly public Equity Dashboard, every district must submit a gap-closing plan or face state intervention
• Fund teacher-of-color pipeline partnerships to place 1,000 educators in high-need districts over 4 years
• Require culturally responsive curriculum in all high-gap districts, research shows it improves outcomes 15–20%

TEACHER INVESTMENT
• Raise teacher base compensation +15% over 3 years, funded through the $1.8B state surplus
• $25,000 in student loan forgiveness for teachers who commit 4 years to high-need districts
• Cut non-instructional paperwork by 30%, teachers report spending nearly half their time on administrative tasks

CAREER READINESS
• Expand WTCS dual-credit access to all 72 Wisconsin counties, including rural Northwoods districts currently locked out
• 10,000 paid youth apprenticeship placements per year by Year 3
• Free WTCS credentials for in-demand fields (CDL, electrical, HVAC, healthcare, IT) for Wisconsin residents under 25

HEALTHCARE ACCESS
• Wisconsin has forfeited $2.6B in federal Medicaid funding by refusing to expand
• Day 1: Call a Special Session on BadgerCare, bipartisan framework within 90 days
• Expansion brings $900M+ in new federal health dollars into Wisconsin annually
• 90,000+ additional Wisconsinites covered, including child care workers, agricultural workers, and part-time employees
• Expand rural and underserved health clinics, 200 new integrative health access points statewide
• Mental health parity: a licensed counselor in every K–12 school building in Wisconsin

HOUSING SUPPLY
• Wisconsin's median home price rose 120% in 10 years, income rose only 50%
• Target: 50,000 new housing units over 4 years
• Remove local zoning barriers to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide
• Any residential permit not acted on within 90 days is automatically approved
• Redirect $200M in WHEDA lending toward starter homes under $300K for first-time buyers

CHILD CARE
• Wisconsin's child care crisis costs the state $1.1B per year in lost economic productivity
• Raise child care worker pay from $13.55/hour to $20/hour through state stabilization grants
• Close Wisconsin's 33,000-slot child care gap through the state surplus and employer partnerships
• Universal 4K: integrate every 4-year-old into a quality early literacy program

CLOSE THE LABOR GAP
• Wisconsin has averaged 93,099 more job openings than job seekers every month since 2021
• Day 1 executive action: remove child care and transportation as workforce barriers
• Wisconsin Worker Welcome Program: $5,000 relocation tax credit for skilled workers in shortage fields
• Free 90-day credential fast-track at all 16 WTCS colleges in the 15 highest-demand fields
• Wisconsin Worker Retention Credit: up to $15,000 per employee for small businesses that raise wages and provide child care

INVEST THE $1.8B SURPLUS WISELY

• $500M → Property tax and renter relief for families earning under $100K
• $400M → Special education reimbursement + literacy infrastructure
• $300M → Child care stabilization, wage fund, and provider expansion
• $300M → Rural broadband, manufacturing workforce training, and minority small business capital
• $300M → Housing supply fund — down payment assistance, WHEDA recapitalization, and ADU incentives

SMALL & MINORITY BUSINESS ECONOMY
• 25% of all state procurement reserved for Wisconsin small and minority-owned businesses — currently less than 8%
• $50M Wisconsin Minority Business Capital Fund for businesses that cannot access traditional capital
• Main Street Manufacturing Grant: $250,000 for every Wisconsin community under 25,000 people
• Wisconsin's GDP per worker lags every neighboring state — Dr. King's plan closes that gap

YEAR 1 TARGETS — PUBLICLY REPORTED EVERY QUARTER
• Milwaukee homicides rose 42% since 2019 — the largest increase of any major U.S. city
• Reduce statewide homicides −20% in Year 1 through intelligence-led policing and community violence grants
• Raise Milwaukee's homicide clearance rate from ~40% to 60%+
• Reduce overdose deaths −25% through a multi-agency Fentanyl Response Task Force
• Reduce reckless driving fatalities −15% — enforcement fund + traffic camera pilot
• Restore and permanently fund School Resource Officers in MPS

REENTRY AS A PUBLIC SAFETY STRATEGY
• Dr. King's God Squad helped 2,000+ returning citizens find employment and housing
• Establish an Office of Reentry & Community Safety on Day 30 — cabinet-level, reporting to the Governor
• 5,000 reentry employment placements in Year 1 — $8,000 employer tax credit per hire
• 1,200 transitional housing units through public-private-faith partnerships
• Cut Wisconsin's 3-year recidivism rate from 67% to 40% — saving ~$84M per percentage point

YOUTH INTERVENTION
• 5,000 youth jobs and mentorship placements statewide in Year 1 — targeting ages 14–24
• Fund 50+ Violence Interruption organizations — proven Cure Violence model
• A licensed counselor in every K–12 school building in Wisconsin

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & FAMILY SAFETY
• Increase domestic violence services funding by $30M in Year 1
• Mandate the Lethality Assessment Protocol for all law enforcement DV encounters — reduced DV homicides 30% in Maryland
• 72-hour electronic monitoring for high-risk DV offenders after a victim leaves

Recommended Improvements

Wisconsin People Over Politics

Wisconsin People
Over Politics