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If the Republicans’ version of the 2005-07 state budget had become law, it would have required “deep and drastic” cuts and resulted in the “biggest devastation” that Wisconsin’s public schools have ever experienced, Governor Jim Doyle said Thursday (October 27, 2005) in an address at the WEAC Convention in Milwaukee.
Fortunately, Doyle said, he has expansive veto powers and was able to turn the Republicans’ budget around and fulfill the state's promise to fund two-thirds of the cost of education while providing relief to property taxpayers.
Doyle, whose wife Jessica is a public school teacher, said public education is a very personal issue for him. He recalled the day he took his son to his first day of school and how he felt proud and secure in the knowledge that his son would receive an excellent education in Wisconsin public schools. Now, a new generation in his family is at that point, he said, as his grandson began his first day of school this year “filled with enthusiasm.”
“His school has just opened up his world and filled him with excitement about life,” Doyle said. “My grandson is going to get an education that will make his life a thousand times better than if he didn’t get that education.
“So I am here to thank you for what you do for my children and grandchildren and the children of Wisconsin,” Doyle said.
Generation after generation of Wisconsin citizens has demonstrated a commitment to public education, he said. When his own parents were growing up during the Great Depression, Doyle said, “what little their parents had, they were willing to invest in their children’s education.”
“We have to make sure we stay true to that value,” he said. “If the next generation has a good education, then the future will be very bright indeed.
“I am going to fight with everything I have to make sure the children of the state of Wisconsin have that bright, bright future.
“Every child in this state – no matter where they come from, their economic background, race or ethnicity – must have access to a good, high-quality education.”
In another address, State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster thanked WEAC leadership and membership for supporting her and applauded Doyle for standing up for public education.
“Our
united efforts have no greater ally than Governor Doyle,” Burmaster
said. “Thanks to Governor Doyle, the start of school last month
was vastly better than it might have been.”
Burmaster praised the work of Wisconsin’s public school teachers and education support professionals. Every day, she said, you “solve problems that baffle others and perform miracles,” while too often being unjustly berated.
“But amidst all of that, you have the courage to teach,” she said.
She urged WEAC members to “continue to be those grassroots activists who inform policymakers that education is our best investment.”
“Nothing happens without great teachers and education support professionals,” Burmaster said. “Through solidarity and action, our voices will be heard.”
Posted October 27, 2005