Vos Urges Nicholson to Forego Guv Race
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 20, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …Assembly Speaker Robin Vos today said conservative Kevin Nicholson should not enter the GOP race for guv and instead focus his efforts on 2024.During a WisPolitics.com luncheon at the Madison Club, the Rochester Republican said Nicholson would be better off saving his war chest for the next cycle instead of wasting money attempting to beat former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in a primary. Vos also said he isn’t officially endorsing Kleefisch, but added “she certainly in my mind is the best candidate.”“If Kevin Nicholson is listening: You need to not run for governor,” he said. “You need to be able to focus on something like 2024.”Nicholson, president and CEO of the conservative No Better Friend Corporation, tweeted back at Vos:“Thanks, @repvos, for the political advice. Our elections are a mess, law & order is eroding, schools are failing. How about you focus on doing your job?”Vos said 2024 will be a good year for Republicans to win office because the GOP will have a strong presidential candidate on the ticket, whether that’s Donald Trump or someone else. After President Biden’s first term in office, Americans will be more inclined to vote red because they will likely see those years as a Dem Party failure, he said.Vos also referenced Nicholson’s loss in the 2018 GOP U.S. Senate primary.“So if I’m Kevin Nicholson and I’ve already had one loss, why would you now run against Rebecca Kleefisch, who’s got such a far advantage?”With Kleefisch’s strong fundraising so far and her dominance in early polls, Vos said Nicholson would have to spend all his campaign cash trying to beat her.“That doesn’t help any Republicans get elected; that just hurts us,” he said.Nicholson needs to look around and consider what’s best for the larger GOP rather than for himself if he truly cares about the conservative movement, which might mean stepping aside until 2024, Vos added.Vos also said he believes U.S. Sen Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, will win his bid for a third term this year and suggested Republicans could take both Senate seats when U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, is up for reelection in 2024.See Nicholson’s tweet here.
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Executive Action by Assembly Committee on Education
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 20, 2022
From Wheeler . . .
The Assembly Committee on Education took the following action on education-related bills on Tuesday, January 18th (SAA positions added in bold):
SB-589 Reading Test License (Darling, Alberta) The Foundations of Reading test licensure requirement. Passage recommended, 12-0. SAA support.
AB-611 Reading Test License (Mursau, Jeff) The Foundations of Reading test licensure requirement. Passage recommended, 12-0. SAA support.
AB-617 Kindergarten (Rodriguez, Jessie) Early admission to kindergarten and first grade at a private school participating in a parental choice program. Passage recommended, 8-4. SAA no position.
AB-721 Charter Schools (Steffen, David) The number of independent charter schools authorized by the College of Menominee Nation or the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College. Am. 1 (LRB-1146) no action taken, . Passage recommended, 8-4. SAA oppose.
AB-830 Law Enforcement Curriculum (Murphy, Dave) Model curriculum for pupils in grades 5 to 12 on interacting with law enforcement and granting rule-making authority. Am. 1 withdrawn, . Am. 2 adopted, 12-0. Passage as amended recommended, 9-4. SAA oppose.
AB-843 Firearm Education (Pronschinske, Treig) Comprehensive firearm education for high school pupils. Passage recommended, 9-4. SAA oppose.
If you should have any questions regarding the SAA position on any of these bill, please contact the SAA.
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Steineke Won’t Seek Reelection
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 18, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, announced today he won’t seek reelection this fall.Steineke, first elected to the Assembly in 2010, has served as majority leader since 2015. He was the assistant majority leader in the 2013-14 session.In a statement, he called serving in the Assembly one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of his life.“However, I firmly believe the time has come to pass the torch and allow for others in our community to step forward and serve their neighbors,” Steineke said.Steineke, 51, is the eighth member of the Assembly to announce they will retire or run for another office. Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Salem, is running for Kenosha County exec in the spring and would have to resign if she won the seat.See the release here.
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GOP Lawmakers Take Second Run at Reading Assessment Bill
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 11, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …
Two GOP lawmakers signaled today they will take a second run at legislation that sought to overhaul how elementary schools work with students struggling to read.Gov. Tony Evers in November vetoed SB 454, which would’ve tripled the number of literacy tests young students take. It also would require educators to create a reading plan for students identified as at-risk, and Evers wrote in his veto message he objected to the bill because it lacked funding to cover the costs.Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, and Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, wrote to Evers today they are adding an amendment to the Assembly version of the bill. It would direct the guv to use at least $5 million in federal ARPA funds for grants to schools for teacher professional development and implementing the costs of the proposed assessments and interventions.While Evers vetoed the Senate bill, the Assembly version remains alive.Bernier and Kitchens wrote in their letter the state already reimburses the costs schools incur for screeners. They pointed to the $15.3 billion the state budget currently invests in K-12 education, the $2.7 billion in federal COVID-19 funds schools are set to receive and the $110 million in ARPA funds he has directed to schools. They pointed to the remaining ARPA funds if Evers believes more money is needed.Evers has nixed a series of GOP bills that have tried to dictate how he spends ARPA funds. Under federal law, he has sole discretion on how those funds are spent.“It’s not a question of if, but when Wisconsin will adopt these science-based reforms. Governor Evers, if you don’t sign this bill into law, someone else will,” the Republicans wrote..See the amendment here.
See the release here.
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Johnson Formally Announces Reelection Bid
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 9, 2022
From WisPolitics.com …GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country, today formally announced he would seek reelection to “continue to fight for freedom in the public realm.”Johnson, R-Oshkosh, vowed before his 2016 reelection that he wouldn’t seek a third term. But he hedged on that promise after Dems won full control of Washington, D.C., in the 2020 elections.Johnson said in a statement this morning he promised during his first campaign in 2010 that he would “always tell people the truth and that I would never vote with reelection in mind,” adding those have been “easy promises to keep.”Johnson has become a lightning rod for criticism in recent years, particularly over his comments on COVID-19, and hinted at that in his reelection announcement.“It is not a decision I have made lightly,” Johnson said. “Having already experienced a growing level of vitriol and false attacks, I certainly don’t expect better treatment in the future.”See the release here.
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