Larson's Weekly Report - May 10, 2012

                                                       Senator Chris Larson - 7th District

Dear Friend,

As families are approaching the end of   the school year and preparing for summer, now is the perfect time to   take a look at education in Wisconsin. From K-12 to technical colleges   and universities, education is the backbone of our state's future.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or   opinions you may have about our community or our state.

  Sincerely,
  Chris Larson
  State Senator, District 7
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Schools Lose Valuable Community Members
One of the greatest concerns my   colleagues and I expressed regarding the devastating cuts to education in Governor Walker's budget, was how this might negatively affect   student-to-teacher ratios across Wisconsin. We believed the choice to   funnel $1.6 billion from our neighborhood schools to fund tax breaks for   big corporations and special interest initiatives would undoubtedly result not only in pay cuts for our highly valued teachers, but also in   massive teacher layoffs statewide.
  
Tragically, it appears that our fears   were not unfounded. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction   recently released data showing Wisconsin lost 2,312 teachers and staff from the 2010-2011 to the 2011-2012 school year, the first year since   Governor Walker’s budget went into effect. This leaves Wisconsin schools   with their highest student-to-teacher ratio since 1995, with 73% of districts having lost teachers this year.

Things are not expected to get any easier during the 2012-2013 school year. According to a recent survey done by the Wisconsin Association of   School District Administrators (WASDA), most school district in   Milwaukee County expect to make the same or deeper cuts to balance  their budgets for the next school year, with only one of the 18 school   districts in Milwaukee County reporting that they expect to make fewer cuts next year   compared to this year. The harsh reality our children and schools are   facing is a direct result of Governor Walker’s budget cuts, a loss of   one-time federal dollars, and the siphoning of funds away from our   neighborhood schools and directed towards the expansion of the Milwaukee   Voucher Program.
  
How This Affects Our Children
In   addition to narrowing our children's educational opportunities by   reducing staff, increasing class sizes, eliminating vital support   services, and decreasing course offerings, Governor Walker cuts to education have also had a strong emotional impact on Wisconsin's   students. Aside from a child's parents, their teachers are often the   biggest part of molding their lives and preparing them for the real   world. Losing their teachers due to budget cuts can often feel like they   are losing a family member.
  
One school that has experienced this   first-hand is nearby Oconomowoc High School. Late last month after 15 teachers received layoff notices, students could be seen in the halls wearing special shirts with the message "We love our teachers" and felt   compelled to organize a Facebook group called OHS Solidarity.
  
The group page, which already has   2,221 members,  reads:  "This is the official Facebook group for the   OHS Solidarity movement, in support of the 15 amazing teachers who have been cut from their positions for the coming school year. This group exists solely for the purpose of coming together as a student body to give back to the teachers who have given us all so much of themselves over the years."
  
This is just one example of the experience many schools across the state are facing as they are forced to lose members of their community. After looking at these results, how is it possible for Governor Walker and Republican legislators to continue to try and justify their decision to place education at the   bottom of our priority list during the last legislative session?

Misinformation Regarding Act 10   "Savings"Since April, Governor Walker has been bragging that his cuts to public employees, claiming they have saved Wisconsin about $1 billion. It is important to remember that in reality, cuts to public employees do not outweigh the reductions in education funding and that these "savings" have reduced the ability of middle-income public workers to invest in   our local economies by approximately $3,000 per year on average.   However, this figure being thrown around by Governor Walker and his   administration has thus far been impossible to verify. In fact, many municipalities and school districts are starting to come forward to set   the record straight about the cuts Governor Walker has been boasting. 
  
For example, Governor Walker is  claiming that the City of Milwaukee saved a lavish $25 million because of Act 10. However, the real number is closer to a $14.9 million cut to public workers according to the city's budget and management director.   Milwaukee Public Schools shows a similar discrepancy. While Walker is claiming that MPS has an additional $21 million in their budget as a  result of the cuts, MPS has said that Act 10 cuts and lay-offs to teachers and staff in the 2011-2012 school year will only generate $2.4 million and an estimated $7.7 million in the 2012-2013 school year. 
  
Sheboygan County and its   municipalities also point out that Governor Walker grossly overestimated the savings his regressive legislation would create. Sheboygan   County reported not spending about $1.6 million in its 2012 budget as a   result of Governor Walker's Act 10, compared to the $2.1 million the governor's administration claimed it would receive. The same was true   for the City of Sheboygan where city officials said they "saved" only $420,000, less than half of Governor Walker's $1.3 million claim.   Likewise, the Sheboygan Area School District reported not spending about   $4 million as a result of the bill, compared to the $6.6 million for   which the Walker administration is taking credit.
  
Many municipalities and school   districts expressed that they do not believe many of the cost-saving  measures they had implemented before the passage of Act 10 were being taken into account.

In the case of the City of Sheboygan, the governor's  estimate incorrectly assumed that Sheboygan employees were not   previously paying any money toward their health insurance, when in fact   most were already pay 8% to 10%.
  
As a member of the Senate Committee on Education, I will continue to monitor the state of education to ensure   that we have a realistic, fact-based, and truthful understanding of how   these cuts are affecting our children and their opportunity to succeed.
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Office Phone: (608) 266-7505
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Email:   Sen.Larson@legis.wi.gov

Mailing Address:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707
  
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