Galloway Resigning Her Senate Seat
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 16, 2012
GOP State Senator Pam Galloway is resigning her Senate seat because of illness in her family, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said.
Galloway, one of four GOP senators facing a recall election, was expected to make a formal announcement later today.
GAB Director Kevin Kennedy said the announcement will not end the planned recall election for her Wausau area Senate seat. He said moving ahead with the planned election would be the quickest way to fill the seat without adding costs to taxpayers.
Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said there are provisions in Senate rules for dual control of the chamber and he hoped to meet with Minority Leader Mark Miller next week to discuss them.
State Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, has already announced plans to run for the seat in the recall.
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SAA To Continue The Fight On WiscNet
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 16, 2012
As we expected, AB 473 / SB 375, which would extend the time by which WiscNet must end its relationship with the UW System by one year, to July 1, 2014, failed to get the traction necessary to pass the Legislature. In short, the telecoms had the Assembly Republican leadership sowed up from the beginning on this issue. However, we had a great opportunity to educate legislators on the importance of reliable, affordable bandwidth and other Internet services for Wisconsin school districts. The good news is many understand that we have a policy problem that must be addressed.
The SAA will continue the fight on this issue. And we will keep the membership apprised of any important developments.
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Special Ed Vouchers, Double Dipping Bills Fail In Senate
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 16, 2012
In a huge victory for the SAA and Wisconsin public school children, the State Senate failed to take up AB 110 (Special Education Vouchers) and AB 318 (Double Dipping) before they adjourned yesterday, bringing to a close the regular legislative session in the Senate.
I want to thank all SAA members that contacted their legislators in opposition to each of these bills. I know for a fact that our efforts had tremendous impact on the final outcome in the Senate.
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“Double Dipping” Bill Passes Assembly
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 14, 2012
As we expected, the Assembly passed Assembly Bill 318 (Double Dipping) last night by a vote of 67-26 (see roll call vote).
The SAA strongly opposes AB 318. Reliable sources inside the Capitol indicate the bill will not move in the Senate. We will keep the membership informed of any new developments on this issue.
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AB 110 Passes in the Assembly
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 14, 2012
As expected, the State Assembly last night passed Assembly Bill 110 (Special Education Vouchers) by a 55-39 vote. I want all SAA members to see clearly how your Assembly Representatives voted on the bill so here is the roll call vote. Please note that GOP Representatives Ballweg, Petrowski, Al Ott, Petersen and Nass joined the Democrats in opposing the bill. In addition, Representative Marklein was “paired” in opposition to the bill. All other Assembly Republicans supported the bill.
As reported previously, we believe the bill will ultimately die in the Senate. As it stands right now, several members of the Senate Republican caucus are dead set against the bill including Senate Education Committee Chair Luther Olsen (R-Ripon). Nonetheless, voucher proponents continue to work the halls of the Capitol trying to find a way to get 17 votes for the bill in the Senate. We will stay on top of this until it is over. And we will keep the membership apprised of any late-breaking developments on this issue.
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