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About 120 citizens pack into two adjoining lecture halls Wednesday evening (February 8, 2006) at the Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire to discuss the impact of the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
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Different name, WEAC President Stan Johnson issued the following statement Thursday (February 9, 2006) following the announcement of the Republican legislative leadership's so-called "Taxpayer Protection Amendment" proposal: "This amendment would cause irreparable harm to Wisconsin 's great schools at a time when we all know that our economic future is more dependent than ever on what our children learn in school. The Republican leadership's proposal is a collection of arbitrary and inflexible formulas that take politics into account but ignore the state's future and the well-being of our children. "To name just one example, this proposal would fail to address how schools should handle variables such as the rising number of special needs students or the enormously under-funded mandates of the federal government's so-called No Child Left Behind Act. "TABOR is fundamentally flawed and reckless fiscal policy just like previous, failed TABOR proposals and the TABOR law that has decimated public education and children's services in Colorado . No matter what name the party's leaders want to give to this proposal, its purpose is to tamper with the state Constitution instead of making tough decisions and having real discussions about public resources in the light of day." |
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School budgets already are at their bare bones and any further cuts brought on by the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) "would further strip our schools to the point of no return."
That was the deep concern expressed Wednesday evening (February 8, 2000) by Altoona classroom teacher Shannon Camlek, one of seven panelists who discussed the potentially devastating impact TABOR - or any variation of it - could have on government services and the citizens of Wisconsin.
Education cuts brought on by revenue caps already have, quite literally, put schools and children in the deep freeze, Camlek said. To save on fuel costs, many schools, she noted, already have resorted to lowering their classroom thermostats, some below 65 degrees.
"TABOR would leave us all out in the cold," she said.
The Eau Claire forum was one of six sponsored by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that provides education, research and advocacy for the well-being of children and families in our state. WEAC is a co-sponsor.
TABOR is a proposed amendment to Wisconsin's Constitution that would severely restrict the ability of local governments and the state government to raise funds necessary to maintain quality services. It is being advocated by some powerful legislators.
At a news conference Thursday (February 9, 2006), advocates of TABOR unveiled a new plan which they are calling the Taxpayer Protection Amendment. Opponents point out that it contains the same problems as all of the other versions of TABOR that have been introduced or discussed so far and will have the same negative consequences for Wisconsin residents.
Other speakers at the Eau Claire TABOR forum said TABOR and similar proposals would devastate all kinds of government services that already are struggling. Among them:
John Keckhaver of the WCCF asked participants to fill out forms urging their legislators to oppose TABOR and to volunteer to help stop the amendment from becoming law. "Legislators are going to be influenced by somebody and my thought is it might as well be you," he said.
More information about the impact of TABOR is available on the WCCF Web site.
More on the forums
Resource Page on Tax Gimmicks
Posted February 9, 2006