THE WISCONSIN IDEA DEFINES US

For more than a century, the Wisconsin Idea has defined who we are as citizens of this state. It is an Inspired Idea. It is an idea based on the principles that learning must be available to all and that the search for truth is paramount. In his 2015-2017 Budget Bill, Governor Walker struck the Wisconsin Idea from our laws. Section 36.01 of the Wisconsin Statutes embodies the Wisconsin Idea in its definitions of the purpose and mission of the State University system. The purpose holds it is "in the public interest to provide a system of higher education." The mission insists: "Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for the truth."...

WHAT IS BEST FOR CHILDREN IN RURAL WISCONSIN?

The times, they are a-changin’. Rural Wisconsin is seeing big changes. Rural Wisconsin is home to almost 44 percent of the state’s 860,000 public school students. One big change is the decrease in school enrollment. Rural school districts have a 7% decline while non-rural districts have 3%. With a decline in student population comes a drop in funding. Every district works hard to make the most of each dollar. But at the same time, rural school districts are increasing in poverty. More than half the students are eligible for free-and-reduced lunch. Along with poverty comes the state government taking public school funds and giving them ...

HOW DO WE FORGET?

How do we forget over two hundred years of the Wisconsin dream? How do we look at what our fathers and mothers bequeathed us, and throw it all away for the promise of more jobs, or less taxes? Are we so much less than previous generations that we can throw out any measure of the ideal we expect for our children and our children's children? I am asking these questions of my neighbors and fellow statesmen, because that is exactly what Scott Walker is asking us to do with his current budget proposal. In one fiscal proposal the governor is asking us to dump the Wisconsin Idea, a philosophical ideal that has guided this state's university system, and ...

EDUCATION FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Inclusive education for the common good is guaranteed under Wisconsin's Constitution. "The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein." (Wisconsin Constitution Article X Section 3) Nowhere in Wisconsin's Constitution does it grant legislators authority to: Label our children as failures because they cannot pass a rigorous, timed, standardized test and then threaten to close their public school. ...

A LETTER FROM A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER

Angela Bina is a Spokane, Washington teacher. She moved to Washington a year ago after having taught 18 years in Wisconsin. WEA (Washington Education Association) is sharing her letter. Dear Union, Thank you. It’s the least I can say, and the very least I can do. I’ve missed the sense of belonging and unity that you bring. I miss being “one” with my colleagues. I’ve been “separate” for too long, having to ask if my colleagues are members or potential members. I’ve missed the certainty and clarity which comes with a Master Agreement. An employee handbook just does not cut it, especially when it can be changed at will. ...

Quotations From Republican Senator Dale Schultz

By the Middle Wisconsin Editorial Board “We are now literally dismantling the state government, and people need to think long and hard about what they want for a future in our state,” “The K-12 system in the last few years has laid off 3,000 personnel, and it looks to me like that’s going to accelerate. Out my way, I would not be shocked if a huge percentage of school districts wind up going to referendum to have the privilege of raising their own property tax because the state has walked away from its principal responsibility of providing for a free, appropriate and near equal education for everybody.” “The university ...

Mary Burke Speaks at Wausau Women’s Network

Mary Burke spoke at a meet-and-greet with the Wausau Women’s Network on Thursday, September 4, at the home of Dr. Bart and Lila Hobson. Donna Seidel asked Burke several pointed questions regarding the gubernatorial candidate’s standpoint on such areas as job creation, education, women’s rights, healthcare reform, and more. While she addressed each of Donna's questions in detail, Burke also stressed that the platform she’s running on is built on 3 overarching themes: Putting the needs of the PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN over the needs of SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Choosing COMMON SENSE over POLITICS AS USUAL Ending DIVISIVENESS and instead ...

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