Recap of Senate Education Committee Hearing
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 17, 2017
The Senate Committee on Education held a public hearing on Thursday, August 17th on the bills listed below. The SAA supported three of the bills, testifying on one of them, as noted below.
Assembly Bill 280. Relating to: incorporating financial literacy into the curriculum of public schools. SAA is neutral on the bill. SAA and WASB worked with the authors to ensure a “soft” requirement that we believe that most if not all districts already meet.
Assembly Bill 71. Relating to: an inventory of pupil data. SAA took no position on the bill.
Assembly Bill 72. Relating to: responsibilities of state superintendent related to privacy and security of pupil data. SAA took no position on the bill.
Senate Bill 105. Relating to: creating a pilot program under which certain school districts are not required to provide a minimum number of hours of direct pupil instruction. SAA testified in support of the bill. The SAA testimony includes some “comments” on the bill. Check it out.
Senate Bill 253. Relating to: prohibiting aiding and abetting sexual abuse. The SAA registered in support of this bill.
Senate Bill 299. Relating to: an initial teaching license based on completion of a Montessori teacher education program. The SAA took no position on this bill.
Senate Bill 301. Relating to: summer school and interim session classes. The SAA registered in support of this bill.
If you should have any comments/questions regarding the SAA’s positioning on any of these bills, please do not hesitate to call the SAA office.
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Schools Gear Up for New Year Without State Budget Finalized
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 16, 2017
Check out this news story from Molly Beck of the Wisconsin State Journal on how school districts are managing the uncertainty of starting the school year without a new state budget in place. Numerous district administrators are quoted.
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CPR in Schools Program Seeking Additional Schools for Training, School Kits
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 15, 2017
The CPR in Wisconsin Schools Program, through funding provided by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP), is a joint effort between the Medical College of Wisconsin and Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) #7 in collaboration with the American Heart Association and a number of other Wisconsin-based groups. The program is dedicated to increasing sudden cardiac arrest survival by making sure all Wisconsin students are trained to perform high-quality CPR. The program builds the infrastructure for schools to provide ongoing high-quality, hands-only CPR training and develops best practices for school-based training programs.
We are currently recruiting additional public and private schools to receive educator training, CPR in Schools Training Kits, and assistance with finding local healthcare partners to help with student training. Educators are invited to attend a training session at a near-by CESA; the training provides an overview of CPR, links to training resources, and ideas for classroom management and setup.
There is no charge to attend the training and some schools will qualify to receive a stipend to cover substitute teacher costs. CPR in Schools kits will be provided at low or no cost to each school, depending on the percentage of students in the school who receive free or reduced costs lunches. The kits include 10 inflatable manikins and a training DVD to ensure that all students physically practice how to perform CPR. Finally, we will help teachers identify training partners from the local community to be student role models in the classroom and to discuss their real-world experiences with performing CPR.
Once a school joins the program, their teachers will receive quarterly newsletters with updates and lessons learned to improve their future CPR training sessions. Cardiac arrest causes over 6,500 deaths annually in Wisconsin and the likelihood of survival is 10%. When bystanders immediately provide CPR to a victim, survival rates double or triple. This program hopes to improve cardiac arrest survival in Wisconsin by ensuring that everyone who graduates from high school has been trained to provide high-quality CPR. Training sessions will begin again in the fall and any school that would like to participate should contact Kelli Mincheski at 920-617-5616 or kmincheski@cesa7.org.
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LFB Analysis of Foxconn Bill Raises Questions
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 9, 2017
From WisPolitics.com …
Dems are demanding Republicans slow down deliberations on the Foxconn bill after a new Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis found the state’s break-even point, at best, would be fiscal year 2042-43.
That’s if the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer creates 13,000 jobs at a planned $10 billion facility. But it would be “well past” 2044-45 before the state reaped more tax revenue than the $3 billion it’s slated to dole out to the company if only 3,000 jobs were created.
The Assembly had been targeting next week for a floor vote, though a committee exec is up in the air with dozens of amendments being considered. Meanwhile, the Senate plans to send the bill to the Joint Finance Committee.
“We need more time to thoroughly vet the specifics of this deal and to ensure more work for Wisconsin contractors, suppliers and small businesses, as well as new good-paying jobs for Wisconsin workers,” said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha.
But Tom Evenson, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, called the incentive package an “excellent investment” for the state with $3 billion in exchange for a $10 billion plant and $10.5 billion in new payroll.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that brings high-tech manufacturing back to America, right here in Wisconsin, and adds 13,000 good paying jobs,” Evenson said, adding the package results in $6.70 of private investment for every $1 of public funds.
See the LFB analysis here.
See Wisconsin State Journal Coverage here.
See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Coverage here.
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Energy Efficiency Exemption article; Wachs Announces for Governor
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 8, 2017
I was out of the office yesterday but wanted to make sure you all saw the news story on the energy efficiency exemption in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; and also the news about Representative Dana Wachs’ announcement that he’s running for governor. Check them out.
Wach’s Announces for Governor: Wisconsin State Journal Coverage
Eau Claire Leader Telegram Article
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