Wisconsin ended the 2013 fiscal year with a nearly $760 million surplus, according a Department of Administration report.
Gov. Scott Walker said the surplus is a result of tough budget decisions in a statement following the release of the report.
“When we took office two years ago, we said we would be good stewards to the taxpayers’ money, and this report shows we’re on the right track,” Walker said in a statement. “This is more great news for the hardworking taxpayers, but there’s more work left to be done.”
In January 2013, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated a balance of $484.7 million to remain and did not expect $274.5 million in additional surplus funds.
The surplus, the second-largest surplus since 1994, allows for a $153 million deposit into the state’s “rainy day fund,” the largest deposit into the fund ever.
According to the report, K-12 schools received 35.6 percent of General Purpose Revenue funding, with medical assistance, correctional services and the UW System receiving the next highest funding amounts.
School aid to Wisconsin’s 424 districts also increased by $71.3 million, or 1.4 percent, medical assistance funding increased 8.6 percent, correctional assistance increased 5.1 percent and funding for the UW System increased 20.1 percent.
“Tuition at UW institutions, despite annual increases continues to be a relative bargain in higher education,” the report states, with UW-Madison having $1,102 less in tuition costs compared to the average of tuition costs at Big Ten public universities.
