SAA Opposes “Common Core” Bills
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 16, 2014
At a public hearing held yesterday before the Assembly Committee on Education, the SAA joined the DPI and other education groups in opposing the following three bills that came out of the work of the Assembly Select Committee on the Common Core State Standards:
AB 616 – relating to prohibiting the collection of a pupil’s biometric data and, the use of any device to assess a pupil’s physiological or emotional state.
AB 617 – relating to directing the DPI to establish model academic standards and granting rule-making authority.
AB 618 – relating to the student information system, the disclosure of personally identifiable student data, and the disclosure of pupil records.
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Leaders of Closed Voucher School Now in Florida
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 16, 2014
A husband and wife running a private Milwaukee voucher school that abruptly closed last month — after accepting a total of more than $2.3 million in taxpayer money — now live in a gated community in Florida by the beach, records show.
Read more from the Journal Sentinel here.
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Sources: Walker to Use Surplus for Big Tax Cut
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 16, 2014
Gov. Scott Walker will consider using a big surplus for a cut income and property taxes, sources say.
New revenue numbers for the 2013-15 biennium weren’t yet finalized as of this afternoon. But one administration source pegged the range for revenue growth at between $800 million and $1 billion.
Walker won’t release final details of his plan until next week’s State of the State address. But lawmakers quickly reacted to the suggestion to dedicate the money to tax relief.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said lawmakers and the guv will work together to pay the state’s bills, return money to taxpayers and set some aside in the rainy day fund.
“As a result of our focus on improving our business climate and easing the tax burden on Wisconsin families, our state’s economy is expanding and more people are finding work,” Fitzgerald said.
Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, countered history suggests Walker’s plan will primarily benefit the rich. He also bemoaned the state’s mediocre job growth numbers.
“Wisconsin should commit itself to long-term solutions instead of short-sighted gimmicks,” Larson said. “Wisconsin citizens want us to again prioritize Wisconsin’s future by reinvesting in the areas that have been ignored the last three years, including K-12 education, technical colleges and making higher education affordable.”
Walker chief of staff Eric Schutt said details of Walker’s plan are still under discussion.
If a tax cut plan is signed into law, it would mark the third tax cut in the past year after income rates were reduced in the budget and lawmakers approved a $100 million property tax cut in early fall.
“His preference would be to return money to taxpayers,” Schutt said. “The vehicle to do that is property and/or income taxes.”
Walker’s options on the property tax could include directing money through the various formulas that impact local levies.
On the income tax, he could change withholding tables, which would provide an immediate impact as Wisconsinites saw more money in their paychecks. He also could push for another cut in rates to follow up the reductions approved in the 2013-15 budget. Some of that discussion will depend on the final revenue figures, sources say.
Lawmakers have also pushed a series of tax breaks in recent weeks, including the elimination of the alternative minimum tax and exempting aircraft maintenance from the sales tax.
See Journal Sentinel article here.
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Appleton Post Crescent: Reject Independent Charter Schools
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 14, 2014
The Appleton Post Crescent published an excellent editorial yesterday encouraging lawmakers to reject independent charter school expansion in Wisconsin.
See Editorial here.
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Voucher School Closes “In the Dead of the Night”
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 14, 2014
LifeSkills Academy, a small private school participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program abruptly closed in the middle of December, but not before collecting more than $200,000 from taxpayers this academic year to educate students who now attend other schools, state officials confirmed.
Read more from Journal Sentinel here.
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