Tommy Washbush
The sign outside Abundant Life Christian School.
The site of a Madison school shooting on Dec. 16.
Among the officials responding to a Dec. 16 shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison were representatives from a Wisconsin Department of Justice office created to promote school safety after the 2018 Parkland shooting, which claimed 17 lives. Members of one of the Office of School Safety’s Critical Incident Response teams, which work to “minimize the psychological impact of a school critical incident,” helped organize community meetings and educate staff at Abundant Life on how to talk about the tragedy.
But 12 positions from the office are on the chopping block in the 2025-27 state budget, as pandemic-era federal funding has run dry. Officials from the office argue its work — including school security trainings and staffing a safety hotline that received 40% more tips in 2023 than the year prior — make it a worthwhile investment.
“Our Office of School Safety is making a difference in an area of paramount importance: the safety of our kids. That office works to proactively prevent violence in schools and trains educators, students, and staff to recognize and mitigate crises and trauma,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul in March.
In 2023, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) argued the Legislature should not supplant pandemic-era federally provided funds and the office could still function with reduced positions. But in end-of-year interviews after the shooting, Republican party leaders Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said they were open to adding the $2.3 million for the office requested by Kaul in the upcoming budget.
“I think that’s a good idea to make sure people are trained and make sure that they are ready, and if this tragedy occurs somewhere, that they’re able to deal with it,” Vos told the Wisconsin State Journal. “So I’m certainly open to continuing funding for the Office of School Safety.”
“I think we will support” the funding addition, LeMahieu told CBS 58 in Milwaukee.
Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), a member of the Joint Finance Committee, says the school safety office would be forced “to close or shift” if it does not receive funding in the upcoming budget. She expects the office’s funding to be a central discussion in the budget cycle: “Our kids are worth it. I don’t want to take the chance of skimping on something that prevents school violence.”
