Legislative Alert: Contact Joint Finance on the Budget
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 20, 2013
I want to thank each and every one of the SAA members that have contacted their legislators in support of the SAA’s positions on the Governor’s education budget proposals. Your efforts are paying dividends. Increasing numbers of Republican legislators continue to voice their concerns about the Governor’s revenue cap freeze as well as his private school voucher and charter school proposals.
But, the battle is far from over. It’s a very long budget process (lasting in to June) and many legislators believe they can simply wait us out and we won’t be able to sustain the fight.
So, again, I want to thank all of you for contacting your legislators. For those of you that have yet to lobby your legislators, please do so ASAP. To be successful in this fight, all SAA members must contact their legislators repeatedly throughout the budget process.
Now, it is time for you to turn your attention to the Joint Finance Committee (JFC). Yesterday, the JFC began its formal work on the state budget with the start of state agency budget briefings.
I’m calling on each and every SAA member to collaborate with your district’s administrative team on a strategy to contact the 16 members of the Joint Finance Committee.
This budget contains many proposals that impact every school district in the state. But, for now, it is vitally important that we focus on the following:
- Support the Ellis/Olsen plan to increase the revenue cap per pupil increase by $150 in each year of the biennium.
- Support removing all private school voucher expansion proposals (including special needs vouchers) from the budget. Share with legislators that such a fundamental change in education policy really must stand as separate legislation – away from the budget – to allow the public’s voice to be heard. The voucher proposals need the public scrutiny that only a separate public hearing before the standing education committees can provide.
- Support removing all charter school proposals (for both school district and independent charter schools) from the budget. The public’s voice also must be heard – away from the budget – on these charter school proposals.
For SAA Talking Points on Private School Voucher Expansion, Special Needs Vouchers and Charter School Budget Proposals see here.
Please send a letter (phone calls work too) using the information discussed above and the talking points to the members of the Joint Finance Committee as soon as possible. Please share your communication with your legislators and with the SAA. We have provided contact information for each of the 16 members of the Joint Finance Committee below. For your convenience, I have also provided links to the Senate Directory, the Assembly Directory and Who Are My Legislators.
Senator Alberta Darling (608) 266-5830
Senator Luther Olsen (608) 266-0751
Senator Sheila Harsdorf (608) 266-7745
Senator Joe Leibham (608) 266-2056
Senator Mary Lazich (608) 266-5400
Senator Glenn Grothman (608) 266-7513
Senator Jennifer Shilling (608) 266-5490
Senator Robert Wirch (608) 267-8979
Representative John Nygren (608) 266-2343
Representative Pat Strachota (608) 264-8486
Representative Dale Kooyenga (608) 266-9180
Representative Dean Knudson (608) 266-1526
Representative Dan LeMahieu (608) 266-9175
Representative John Klenke (608) 266-0485
Representative Cory Mason (608) 266-0634
Representative Jon Richards (608) 266-0650
It is vitally important that we continue to communicate with our legislators on the major budget issues. The pushback from the pro-voucher groups and pro-charter groups will be enormous. We must match their intensity, not only today but tomorrow as well. This is a long fight and we must sustain our intensity for the next 4-5 months of the budget process. A lot of lawmakers believe they can simply wait us out and we won’t be able to sustain our intensity.
We need to prove them wrong. This is for all the marbles. Let’s fight for everything that is good in public education, let’s fight for all the reasons we made education our life’s work, and most importantly, let’s fight for our children’s future.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for all your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin school children.
Topics: Legislative Action, SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
LFB Budget Summary; Act 10 Update; and More
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 15, 2013
LFB Releases Budget Summary
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its budget summary yesterday. You can access it here. It is an invaluable source of information on the state budget.
Appeals Court Denies Act 10 Stay
The Boardman & Clark law firm recently posted a legal update regarding the appeal of the Act 10 decision. The SAA believes this is valuable information for SAA members. We regularly receive these updates and have chosen to distribute this information to the SAA membership with the permission of the Boardman & Clark law firm.
Van Hollen Won’t Ask Supreme Court for Act 10 Stay
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced this morning he will not ask the state Supreme Court to stay a Dane County judge’s ruling that found pieces of the guv’s collective bargaining changes were unconstitutional. An appeals court earlier this week refused to put the ruling on hold while the Department of Justice appeals the merits.
Van Hollen said this morning he sought the stay from the 4th District Court of Appeals out of fear municipalities would misconstrue Judge Juan Colas’ decision and believe it prevented them from following Act 10. While the court denied the request for a stay, Van Hollen also believed it also was “very clear that Judge Colas’s order does not have statewide application and does not apply to any non-parties.”
“Under the circumstances, we’re content to focus on the merits and we look forward to a decision upholding Act 10 in its entirety, consistent with the prior ruling of United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Judicial Circuit,” Van Hollen said.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Appeals Court Refuses to Stay Act 10 Decision
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 13, 2013
A state appeals court yesterday refused to stay a Dane County judge’s decision that some parts of Act 10 are unconstitutional.
The 4th District Court of Appeals found Judge Juan Colas properly used his discretion in refusing to put aside his decision that the guv’s collective bargaining changes for some local government employees are unconstitutional.
There has been some debate on how far reaching Colas’ decision is in the suit filed by Madison Teachers Inc. and a local representing city of Milwaukee employees, and the Department of Justice argued a stay was needed to avoid confusion for local governments and the possibility of additional lawsuits over what limits remain for their employees in negotiations.
But the appeals court rejected that argument, finding the possibility of confusion was not enough for a stay.
“Until the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally resolves the issue, either by issuing a definitive ruling on the merits or by issuing an order declining to review a merits decision of this court, it seems ongoing litigation is inevitable,” the court wrote.
The judges also found the state had “more than a mere possibility of success” in its appeal, but found the case was not the “near-certain-to-win” situation that would require a stay. Instead, the judges said that represents a “middle ground” in which the state’s case is neither a slam dunk or frivolous.
The SAA is awaiting definitive analysis of the decision from one of the outstanding school attorneys that we work with. The SAA will forward that analysis as soon as it is available. Hang tight. More information to follow.
See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel News Coverage
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
SAA Throws Support to Ellis/Olsen Plan
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 12, 2013
After careful consideration, the SAA has thrown its support to the school finance proposal offered by Senators Ellis and Olsen – a plan that would increase the revenue cap per pupil adjustment by $150 in each year of the 2013-15 biennium. As you know, the SAA has been staunchly supporting a $200 per pupil increase.
After consultation with key legislative leaders, SAA leadership has concluded that supporting the Ellis/Olsen plan is in the best interest of all SAA members, and Wisconsin school children, at this time. Simply put it is the best viable alternative to Governor Walker’s proposed revenue cap freeze.
The Ellis/Olsen proposal, if adopted, will provide Wisconsin public schools with $382 million more under the revenue cap than Governor Walker’s revenue cap freeze proposal. The plan will be paid for with a 60/40 split of state aid and local property tax support – approximately $229 million in state aid and $153 million in local property taxes.
The SAA encourages all SAA members to begin advocating on behalf of the Ellis/Olsen proposal to increase the revenue cap per pupil adjustment by $150 in each year of the 2013-15 biennium.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
2013 WASB Day at the Capitol
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 7, 2013
Public school resources have been cut dramatically over the past few years, and the state budget decisions about to be made on school funding, voucher expansion and who will have authority over charter schools in our state will impact your local schools for years to come. Join school board members and administrators from around the state at the WASB 2013 Day at the Capitol to be heard and have an impact on the coming state budget debates.
Heading the agenda:
- Increasing Revenue Limits and State Aid (To Align Costs with Available Revenues While Holding Down Property Taxes)
- Stopping Voucher Expansion and the Creation of Special Education Vouchers
- Curbing the Proposed Loss of School Board Authority over Charter Schools in our State
School officials need to make their voices heard and ensure that school districts have the funding and flexibility to meet the needs of their students and maintain quality programs. By working together, we can make a more powerful statement, so be sure your district is represented on this important day.
2013 WASB Day at the Capitol
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monona Terrace Convention Center & State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
For additional insight into school finance, attend the WASB/WASBO School Finance Seminar the day before – on Tuesday, March 12, also at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison.
Registration Costs:
Day at the Capitol $85
School Finance Seminar $115
Day at the Capitol and School Finance Seminar $185
We look forward to seeing you!
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »