Tonight, Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Middleton), the ranking member on the Assembly Education Committee, is joining me to respond to Gov. Walker's State of the State Address. Below is her column on the devastating impact of Gov. Walker's agenda on education in Wisconsin.
Governor Walker’s plans not Working for Education in Wisconsin
By Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts
79th Assembly District
Tonight, as the Governor gives his state of the state address, he continues his multi-million dollar, all out campaign to convince citizens and voters of Wisconsin that his actions amounted to bold education reform. I’m here to tell you they do not. He will claim that “it’s working”. I’m here to tell you that it is not.
It is not working for local school districts that have lost $1.6 billion in state funding for public education.
It is not working for administrators dealing with these devastating cuts while the governor increased funding to unaccountable and unproven voucher schools by $40 million.
It is not working for the children in crowded classrooms with less experienced teachers.
It is not working for 97 percent of school districts who saw their state aid cut this year.
It is not working for college students whose tuition is going up.
It is not working for teachers who lost nearly all collective bargaining power.
It is not working for our public schools that are suffering from the second-highest cuts in the nation.
It is not working for our universities that have endured the third-highest cuts in the nation.
Every legislature makes difficult choices that reflect their priorities – unfortunately, poor decisions can cause devastating outcomes. After some very cursory research, I was able to compile a list of 41 school districts facing major budgetary issues heading toward the 2012-2013 school year. This is just the beginning of a list that is certainly going to grow as district start the difficult task of assembling their budgets. The problems before them are a direct result of the decisions made by Governor Walker and the Republican leadership to prioritize corporate donors and unaccountable tax-payer funded voucher schools over public school children. Not only is this agenda not working as advertised, it is not real reform.
This all-out assault on Wisconsin’s cherished public schools has pitted, to use Scott Walker’s own words, “the haves against the have-nots.” Gov. Walker’s budget is balanced on the backs of schoolchildren with draconian funding reductions for public education. By cutting from public education and shifting funds toward alternate priorities, Scott Walker is waving the white flag of surrender and giving up on the children of Wisconsin.
There is, and always has been a better way to conduct business: the Wisconsin way. Wisconsinites have come to expect a high quality public school system that provides an equal playing field for all students and we cannot forget that commitment. By dedicating funding at the state level, we can alleviate the pressure felt by property taxpayers. Instead of paying back political supporters, we should be investing in our state’s future.
Educating our students creates the foundation for our economic future. The direction that Gov. Walker has taken Wisconsin is putting our children’s future prospects and our state’s economic viability in jeopardy. As school districts around our state plan their budgets for next school year and the bleak projections become a reality, one thing grows increasingly clear: Gov. Walker’s reforms are not working.