- Click the graphic for more information on WAES.
From the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES)
Governor’s budget plan for education
gets a bad grade on basic mathematicsAs long as the cost of education does not increase, the tools Governor Scott Walker “gave” districts to offset his devastating cuts to school aids might work, theoretically, for some communities. In the real world, however─where costs increase and children need opportunities to succeed, the coming years look pretty bleak.
That was the assessment following Tuesday’s credentialed media only press event behind locked doors where the Governor rolled out his version of the 2011-13 budget for public education. Not everyone was as optimistic as Walker.
Superintendent of Schools Tony Evers called the budget “a crushing challenge,” while the School Finance Network said the budget is “shortsighted and counterproductive” and “the simple fact is that (it) will result in cuts to programs and services and increases in class sizes.”
In general, the Governor’s budget that cuts aid and reduces districts’ revenue authority doesn’t take into account 18 years of cuts to programs and services and basic inflationary cost increases. WAES maintains that sooner or later, the result of the cuts─small, large, and cumulative─will be or already has jeopardized the future of Wisconsin’s children and communities.
Wisconsin’s School Administrator’s Alliance (SAA) said its members are united in their opposition to Governor Walker’s agenda of privatizing public education.” “According to John Forester, the group’s director of government relations, “The school aid cuts in the Governor’s proposed budget plan are of a magnitude not seen since the Great Depression.”
Find out what you can do to stop these devastating aid cuts to our public schools at http://www.excellentschools.org/events/2011/budget/toolkit.htm..
Read more:
- School Finance Network response … http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/March11/0317/0317sfn.pdf
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ….http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/118129759.html
- Milwaukee’s WISN … http://www.wisn.com/news/27221521/detail.html
- Wisconsin State Journal …. http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_be49f5a8-5045-11e0-86a0-001cc4c03286.html
- Department of Public Instruction …. http://dpi.state.wi.us/eis/pdf/dpinr2011_26.pdf
- Wispolitics.com …. http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=230238
- Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance …. http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/March11/0316/0316saa.pdf
- Wausau Daily Herald …. http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20110317/WDH0101/103170450/Local-government-officials-say-Walker-s-tools-will-not-work?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
- ACLU of Wisconsin …. http://www.aclu-wi.org/
- MPS Superintendent Thornton reacts …. http://superintendentthornton.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-dont-have-to-be-invited.html
Thomas J. Mertz
AMPS 