Representative Jon Richards Report - November 30, 2012

State Representative Jon Richards - 19th District

Dear Neighbor,

During a speech earlier this month in California, in which he unveiled his agenda for the next state budget, Governor Walker sent mixed messages on his plans for education in Wisconsin.

On one hand, Walker wants to tie new spending on our public schools and universities to unspecified performance standards. On the other, he wants to expand the unaccountable school voucher programs in Milwaukee and Racine, which got an additional $300 million in this state budget—while public schools were cut by a record $800 million.

Now is not the time to tinker with risky pay for performance schemes for our public schools. They have not been proven to be helpful and unfairly hurt schools that need the most support to turn around achievement.

Instead of punishing public schools and rewarding unaccountable voucher schools, the next state budget needs to correct some of the inexcusable mistakes Republicans made in their last budget.

This time around we need to work in a bipartisan fashion to reinvest in public schools, technical colleges and measures that will help create good-paying jobs for Wisconsin families. Making these public investments will benefit and grow the middle class.

As always, it is a pleasure to be able to stay in touch with you. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns, questions or ideas you may have.

Sincerely,

JON RICHARDS
State Representative
Assembly District 19
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Representative Jon Richards
State Capitol, 118 North
Madison, WI 53708
(608) 266-0650
Facebook: facebook.com/RepJonRichardsTwitter: @RepRichards