Secretary King Calls for Repeal of Transgender Laws
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 4, 2016
On Monday, Education Secretary John B. King Jr. called for the repeal of transgender bathroom laws adopted in the states of Mississippi and North Carolina. Check out the Associated Press story picked up by the Watertown Daily Times.
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SAA Members to Run for the Legislature
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 3, 2016
For the past 15 years that I have served as the SAA’s lobbyist, SAA members have talked about the importance of school administrators getting elected to the Legislature.
Yet, in the past 15 years, we haven’t had many administrators step up to run. Well, all that has changed in 2016, with three past/present SAA members having announced their candidacies:
Dave Polashek
Dave Polashek is running for the State Senate (12th Senate District) as a Democrat. He served 37 years as a school administrator, including 22 years as Oconto Falls superintendent. Dave was also WASDA President in 2013-14 and SAA Chair, 2000-02.
Jeff Wright
Jeff Wright is running for the State Assembly (51st Assembly District) as a Democrat. Jeff’s career as an educator began as a history, government and world affairs teacher. He also served as a high school principal on the south side of Chicago. Jeff is currently the assistant superintendent for the Sauk Prairie Schools.
Joe Huftel
Joe Huftel is running for the State Assembly (75th Assembly District) as a Democrat. Joe spent the better part of three decades working in education; first as a middle and high school teacher, then as a high school assistant principal and principal and most recently as vice president with Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College.
Needless to say, the SAA is very excited about these member candidates and their campaigns. If you would like more information about their campaigns, including information on making campaign contributions, I have provided links to each candidate’s campaign website below.
Please note: The Government Accountability Board (GAB) has advised that SAA members should access campaign donation pages from a personal computer and not on school servers.
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Justice Prosser to Retire from State Supreme Court
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 28, 2016
From WisPolitics.com …
Justice David Prosser announced today he is retiring from the state Supreme Court after nearly 18 years on bench.
His retirement will take effect at the end of July, when the court’s current term comes to a close.
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Wisconsin in various capacities for more than 40 years,” Prosser wrote in a letter to Gov. Scott Walker, according to a release from the state Supreme Court.
Walker, who appointed Justice Rebecca Bradley to the bench last fall to replace the late Justice Pat Crooks, will be able to appoint a successor for Prosser, whose term does not end until 2021.
Prosser, a former Outagamie County DA and Assembly speaker, served on the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission from 1997 to 1998, when then-Gov. Tommy Thompson appointed him to the state Supreme Court.
Prosser was elected to a full term in 2001 and again in 2011, an election that turned into a de facto referendum on Walker’s collective bargaining changes for state employees.
He later faced a Judicial Commission complaint over a physical altercation with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. The complaint stalled after members of the court recused themselves from the case.
See the release here.
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Referendums and Prevailing Wage
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 19, 2016
The Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. has put together some information on prevailing wage effective dates regarding bidding and contracting in their recent e-newsletter. Having already received a few inquiries from the field on the issue, I thought SAA members may find this information useful.
Check it out here.
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School Libraries to Share $37.7 Million From Common School Fund
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 19, 2016
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) announced today that public school districts throughout the state will share $37.7 million in library aid, which will be paid April 25 from the Common School Fund, the only state funding specifically designated for the purchase of materials for school libraries.
Additional information, including district-by-district payment amounts, is available in the DPI news release here.
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