SAA Supports Senate Bill 114
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 17, 2021
The SAA submitted testimony today in support of Senate Bill 114, relating to waiving the Foundations of Reading test licensure requirement during a national health emergency declared in response to COVID-19, for a public hearing on the bill before the Senate Committee on Insurance, Licensing and Forestry. Please contact the SAA with any questions you may have regarding this testimony.
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Education Bills Pass in Senate Floor Action
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 17, 2021
From The Wheeler Report . . .
The following education-related bills passed the Senate in floor action yesterday:
SB-039 Extracurricular Activities (Stroebel, Duey) Participation in interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities and school district membership in an interscholastic athletic association in the 2021-22 school year. Am.1 adopted, (Voice Vote). Passed, 20-12. Messaged.
SB-069 Education (Darling, Alberta) Incorporating the Holocaust and other genocides into the state model social studies standards and requiring instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides. Passed, (Voice Vote). Messaged.
SB-109 Open Enrollment (Ballweg, Joan) Full-time open enrollment to attend a fully virtual program offered by a nonresident school district during the 2021-22 school year. Passed, (Voice Vote). Messaged.
SB-110 Open Enrollment (Ballweg, Joan) Applications for full-time open enrollment. Passed, (Voice Vote). Messaged.
The SAA opposes SB-39 and is neutral on SB-69. As is the SAA’s long-standing practice on bills relating to the open enrollment issue, the SAA has taken no position on SB-109 and SB-110. Please contact the SAA with any questions or concerns regarding the SAA’s positions on these bills.
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Schools Soon Eligible for Tax Credits for Voluntary COVID-19 Paid Leave
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 16, 2021
From The Legal Side . . .
In its most recent School Law FYI, the BoardmanClark Law Firm focuses on a program in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that provides tax credits to employers that voluntarily provide certain types of paid leave to employees. The big change for districts is that beginning April 1, 2021, for the first time, districts will be eligible for tax credits to cover some of the costs of this leave.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of the BoardmanClark Law Firm. The information in this update is no substitute for consulting with your district legal counsel, and we encourage you to do so.
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Differences Between DPI Candidates Sharpen
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 12, 2021
From WisPolitics.com …
The state superintendent candidates disagreed during a forum last night on tying pandemic-related school funding to opening schools for in-person classes.
In a Public Education Network and League of Women Voters virtual event, former Brown Deer School District Superintendent Deb Kerr said she agrees with state GOP legislators who support tying school funding from pandemic relief bills to schools that reopen for in-person classes.
Pecatonica School District Superintendent Jill Underly said she opposes that policy.
Underly said the existing method to distribute the $75 million in funds using the Title 1 formula is a great way to make sure those funds primarily go to schools that need the most resources.
She said schools in higher poverty areas will get more funding that way and funds would be distributed whether schools opened for in-person classes or not.
However, Kerr said she agrees with GOP legislators who think those funds should be distributed primarily to schools that reopen to in-person education and DPI should offer more guidance on how to best distribute them.
“They want to make sure they’re putting their investment in the right places because this is a one-time opportunity,” Kerr said. “And if we don’t start using these funds wisely, we’re going to miss an opportunity.”
The election is April 6.
Kerr also slammed Dems for endorsing Underly and further politicizing the race.
“I am a Democrat, but I’ve also been very independent in my life as a superintendent,” Kerr said.
But she said she has been uninvited to some Dem-related events and politically attacked by her opponent. “And it’s really unfortunate that the Democrats have decided to make this a partisan issue,” she added.
“We need to work together, it doesn’t matter what color jacket you wear. At the end of the day our kids are about education and being successful,” Kerr said.
Kerr has received endorsements from several Republicans and donations from those who support pro-voucher candidates across the country.
Underly has received endorsements from multiple Dem officeholders and candidates.
She said every Wisconsinite deserves a good education and she will always advocate for public schools because of her background in public education and fight against voucher expansion.
“Making me partisan then, I guess I have to live with that and I’m happy to because I will always fight for our public schools,” Underly added.
However, they both said they wish the superintendent race was less partisan overall.
Underly also said she would back the freeze on school voucher programs Gov. Tony Evers proposed in his most recent budget.
Underly said voucher and private schools are taking state funds away from public schools and taxpayers should not be funding them because they are not held accountable to the same standards as public schools.
But Kerr said she does not support a freeze on funds because private and voucher schools help fill education gaps in communities across the state. While she does support private and voucher schools, she said she also supports public schools.
Kerr added state superintendents do not have the authority to impose such a freeze. But she said careful consideration over the cap for voucher program funding is needed soon.
“I want to remind all of you on this call tonight that these caps will be lifted in the next four years; that is the law. So I think we need to figure out how are we going to work together to support all of the kids of Wisconsin,” Kerr said.
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WPF Budget Brief Now Available
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 10, 2021
The Wisconsin Policy Forum (WPF) has just released its Budget Brief on Governor Evers’ 2021-23 Executive Budget, complete with a significant discussion of the Governor’s K-12 budget initiatives.
Check it out here.
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