A plea from parents: Let’s fund our schools
As nonpartisan, non-political parents with busy schedules — trucking kids to soccer, dance, classes — it’s easy to miss news out of Madison. But some news cuts through the filter of a busy life. Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $127 million cut to K-12 public schools statewide is that kind of news.
We know $127 million is a lot, but didn’t immediately understand what that would mean for our kids. In between work and our kids’ homework, we asked superintendents statewide:
“What will a $127 million cut do to our children’s education?” What we heard shook us. If legislators continue to fund our schools as proposed in the 2015-’17 budget, elementary schools could close. Core and electives such as AP classes could vanish. Language offerings will dwindle. Athletics and activities could disappear. Programs such as orchestra and band could disband. Classes will grow. Even safety and maintenance programs could dissolve. And more.
Reaction we’ve heard from most parents was, “Wait, what?”
A study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute, showed that the Legislature cut $1,038 in per student spending since 2008, the second-largest slash to K-12 in America, trailing only Alabama. Alabama?!? Is this the state we want to model our schools after?
It’s been an awakening. It’s a shock to the conscience of parents. Our schools are the heart of communities. This cannot be. But it is.
So we went to Joint Finance Committee hearings, community meetings and town halls, wrote letters, made phone calls and sent emails.
We politely asked Republican and Democratic legislators for two things:
Increase funding by $250 per student in the budget so schools can keep pace with growing expenses such as electricity, heating, fuel and insurance.
Remove “non-fiscal items” related to education from the budget. These commandments remove local control from school boards, force public school superintendents to advertise for private charter schools, force schools to adopt the state’s grading system, mandate agenda items in school board meetings and so on. These items don’t serve kids — and have no relevance to the budget.
Some “expressed optimism” that legislators would support some funding for K-12 education. While welcome news, we parents want to be clear.
A flat budget, floated as a solution, gets a D grade from us — “D” as in “doesn’t.” It doesn’t account for growing expenses. It doesn’t serve kids. It doesn’t meet expectations.
It’s a good thing this cut to our kids and their schools doesn’t need to pass. Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-brookfield) recently said the 2015-’17 budget “has more revenue than we’ve ever had.”
Clearly, there’s more than enough revenue to meet kids’ needs in every school district in Wisconsin.
Parents in rural and urban school districts already know what it’s like. Art, music and gym classes have been lost. Older buildings are in need of basic repair. Class sizes grow. This newly proposed budget makes it difficult for these schools to recover from the cuts of yesterday, let alone face new cuts. The only school funding certainty is this: This next Wisconsin budget puts every K-12 public school on the front lines of a budget disaster.
We school supporters will engage our legislators until they support schools and kids, and fund their needs. Wisconsin has the revenue, and, as parents, we have the will.
We urge others to join — or organize your communities. Angela Mcmanaman is president of Parents for Public Schools-milwaukee; Shawn Rolland is president of Wauwatosa “Support Our Schools” (SOS); Liz Sanders is president of Advocates for Education of Whitefish Bay, Inc. (AFE-WFB); and Sandy Whisler is president of Citizen Advocates for Public Education (CAPE) of Lake Mills.