Who Stands Up For Children?
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 25, 2016
As November 8th inches closer, we know that the stakes in the 2016 elections are enormous. Given the state’s sluggish economic growth, prospects for significant new investments in public education look unlikely. After the elections, the battle for limited budget funds will be fierce.
This past legislative session, we won some great victories, and we suffered some gut-wrenching defeats. Through it all, we discovered who was willing to stand up for Wisconsin school children when the going got tough.
Who Stood Up For Children When:
- Lawmakers froze revenue caps for the first time in Wisconsin history. The SAA did!
- Lawmakers forwarded school accountability legislation that threatened to punish children in low-performing school districts. The SAA did!
- Lawmakers continued to develop education policy based on ideology and not on what the evidence showed would move the needle for kids. The SAA did!
- Lawmakers attempted to restrict a community’s ability to go to referendum to maintain education opportunities for children. The SAA did!
And it didn’t always make us very popular inside the State Capitol.
Thank you … But We Must Do More
I want to thank you all for using your relationships with your legislators to lobby on behalf of the children in your schools. Once again, the SAA has proven that it is one of the most effective grassroots lobbying organizations in the state.
But that’s not enough anymore. Increasingly, our political adversaries are stronger, better organized, more numerous and equipped with bigger checkbooks than ever before. Vital resources for Wisconsin school children and the adoption of evidence-based education policy hangs in the balance.
The Stakes Are Too High
We have a lot of work to do. And our first job is to use the limited days remaining to help reelect our “friends” in the 2016 elections. Shortly thereafter we anticipate that privatization advocates will back a strong challenger in the April 2017 election for State Superintendent. As you can see, the stakes are simply too high to sit on the sidelines.
Support for SAA PAC is critical to our continued efforts to “stand up for children” in the State Capitol. If you are interested in supporting SAA PAC, simply click here to make an online donation or here to mail a check.
Please note, the Wisconsin Elections Commission advises members to make online donations from a personal computer and not on school servers.
Thank you for your support and for your continued efforts on behalf of Wisconsin school children. If you have any questions, please contact me at (608) 242-1370 or john.forester@wsaa.org.
Paid for by School Administrators Alliance, Beth Holznagel, Treasurer. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s agent or committee.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Walker: New School Funds Will Be Distributed Through Equalization, Categorical Aid
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 25, 2016
At an invitation-only listening session in Sparta on Monday, Governor Scott Walker said that any new money for schools in the next state budget would most likely be distributed through a combination of equalization and categorical aid. Walker highlighted school transportation as a priority for additional categorical aid investment. There is no mention of the revenue cap being discussed in the news coverage printed in the La Crosse Tribune.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
School Voucher Programs Grow in 2015-16
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 25, 2016
Check out this article on the growth of private school vouchers in 2015-16 by Annysa Johnson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Several school administrators are quoted.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Special Needs Vouchers Cost Districts $2.4 Million
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 24, 2016
Check out the news story written by Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
DPI Notices of Public Hearings on Administrative Rules
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 24, 2016
The Department of Public Instruction has noticed public hearings on two DPI emergency rules regarding changes to summer and interim session classes (PI 17) and changes to High Cost Special Education Aid (PI 30).
The proposed PI 17 rules modifies existing policies and practices which include the following:
- Alignment of existing summer and interim session courses with the regular academic curriculum
- Membership calculations related to courses funded partially or solely with grant funds
- Allows open enrolled students attending a summer or interim course to be included in the membership count for aid and revenue limit purposes
- Removal of duplicative and unnecessarily restrictive language relating to the operation of summer school in cooperation or through an agreement with another entity
In addition, the proposed PI 30 rule modifies the DPI Administrative Code to reflect changes in the statutes as a result of 2015 Wisconsin Act 55 relating to the High Cost Special Education Aid program and to update the rule to reflect changes in agency practice.
For those who cannot attend the public hearing, written testimony regarding each rule received by the Department will still be accepted until the dates provided in the hearing notices and will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearings.
Topics: Legislative Action, SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »