Public Education, Children Benefit in State Budget

Public education, children benefit in state budget The state budget the governor was expected to sign over the weekend is a victory for public education and children, according to WEAC President Terry Craney.

"The Legislature and governor set aside partisanship and made children and their futures a priority," Craney said. "WEAC members deserve a great deal of credit for their work to ensure the budget enhances public education."

Craney said hundreds of WEAC members phoned, faxed and e-mailed legislators and the governor during the protracted budget process, weighing in on pro-public education issues.

"Member involvement was crucial to making legislators and the governor aware of how important the budget is to the education community," Craney said. "We sent a message, and they listened. It's a lesson we should remember for the future."

The governor announced earlier in the week he would not veto most of the pro-public education initiatives in the budget. Additional funding for two class size reduction programs, the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) and Preschool to Grade 5 (P-5) programs survived the governor's veto pen.

"These two class size reduction programs will have long term benefits for children throughout Wisconsin," Craney said. "Research has consistently shown that reducing class size improves student performance."

The governor said he would partially veto provisions that adjust revenue controls for inflation and declining enrollments. Governor Thompson also said he would veto a provision that would have required school districts to allocate savings from fringe benefits to salary under the Qualified Economic Offer law.

Governor Thompson said he was vetoing the item "because two-thirds of the state's school districts have not settled their contracts yet and this would change the bargaining halfway through the negotiations process." The governor will ask the Legislature to pass a separate bill involving this provision.

"We are disappointed the governor vetoed the QEO language," Craney said. "It would have made the law consistent with its original intent. We will continue to work to repeal the law altogether."

Also remaining in the budget were provisions giving districts a three-year adjustment to allow for the impact of reduced revenues, allowing districts to count part of their summer school enrollment in their revenue control counts, and providing $200 million for technology in schools.

The governor did not veto a provision allowing the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Area Technical College and the UW-Milwaukee to establish charter schools. The schools will not be accountable to the Milwaukee public school district, and employees may not have collective bargaining rights or access to the state retirement system.

A veto was also expected on an amendment that would have overturned a state Supreme Court ruling that requires school districts and local governments to notify workers before personnel records are released publicly.

Posted October 10, 1997