“Walk on the Child’s Side” June 16 — Don’t Forget

Don’t forget to save the date for the June 16, “Walk on the Child Side” 10th anniversy school funding action.

In light of the recent budget moves in Wisconsin, this action has never been more necessary.

WEAC has a good page up on the event, here is what they have to say:

School funding reform rally is June 16 in Madison

Ten years after a group of northern Wisconsin educators first walked across the state to draw attention to the need to reform school funding, they will return to Madison for a rally focusing on the fact that “the kids are still waiting.” And everyone who supports school funding reform is invited and encouraged to attend.

The school funding reform rally will begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Participants will march to the State Capitol and rally on the Capitol steps.

“We need to help our legislators understand that we can’t wait much longer,” according to a flier supporting the rally. “We need to help our kids now.”

The rally marks the 10-year anniversary of the first Walk on the Child’s Side, a 240-mile march along Wisconsin highways, from Butternut to Madison, to draw attention to the plight of school districts and Wisconsin’s children as a result of a failed system of school funding. Walk on the Child’s Side was held for four years.

This year’s rally is sponsored by the Price County Citizens Who CARE (the original sponsor of Walk on the Child’s Side), the Northern Tier UniServ, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.

WEAC President Mary Bell, who participated in the original Walk on the Child’s Side, said WEAC supports the 10-year reunion rally. She will attend and encourages all supporters of school funding reform to join in the march and rally.

“Despite the realities of Wisconsin’s economic recession, our advocacy for school funding reform must continue in full stride,” Bell said. “When the economy turns around, we need to have all eyes focused on school funding reform as the top priority for reinvestment.”

Teri Hanson, a representative of CARE and a key organizer of the original walks, said this year’s event will be a celebration of how far the funding reform movement has come and, more importantly, will deliver a message to state government that “Wisconsin’s schools are in crisis and the governor and Legislature have ignored it for far too long.”

The event will include live entertainment and speeches. Organizers are working on convenient parking locations and shuttle buses to make attendance as easy as possible.

Information updates will be provided on the WAES Web site at www.excellentschools.org.

The rally is timely, as the Legislature debates the 2009-11 state budget. According to the Legislature’s calendar, budget deliberations will begin on June 9 and run through June 30. Participants are encouraged to bring signs and banners and to schedule visits with their lawmakers while in Madison.

Sponsors are asking participants to:

1. Make sure your group or organization is behind this event.
2. Talk to your school board about bringing a bus load of school and community members for the day.
3. Start a phone tree and begin arranging some car pools.
4. Discuss your community’s participation at meetings of your clubs, organizations, or groups.
5. Tell your legislators you expect them to attend and then make sure they do.
6. Use your organizing skills to make sure you bring at least 10 people with you … or more.

For more information:

• Flier
• WAES Web site
• Northern Tier UniServ rally Web site

Be there! Make your voice heard!.

Thomas J. Mertz