PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Opponents of raising the gas tax to pay for roads and supporters of increasing funding for public schools are making their cases to Wisconsin state lawmakers. The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee held the first of six public hearings in Platteville on Monday on the two-year, $76 billion spending plan. Education issues were among the hottest topics at the first hearing. Sixty-five-year-old retire state worker Tom Poppe is advocating for a $300-per-student funding increase, or $100 more than what Gov. Scott Walker is proposing. Carl Wiggert is wearing a T-shirt sponsored by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin with the message “The Burden Is Too Heavy. Stop the Gas Tax Hike.” The next hearing is Wednesday in West Allis.
