Republican's rebuff public testimony, vote property tax freeze out of committee

Despite compelling testimony from parents, educators, public safety officers and a variety of local officials, Republicans on the Legislature's powerful Joint Finance Committee voted on February 2 to approve a bill that would freeze property taxes.

Opponents of the bill - who numbered in the hundreds and outnumbered supporters by at least 8 to 1 - spoke of the devastating impact the tax freeze will have on the countless Wisconsin students, businesses and taxpayers that benefit from local government services.

Steve Whitmoyer, an instructor at Gateway Technical College, testified on behalf of the United Technical College Council and WEAC. Steve told the committee of the benefits Wisconsin residents and businesses draw from the technical college system and the value it provides Wisconsin taxpayers.

Steve testified, "The tax freeze chokes off resources to the technical colleges. In doing so, the freeze limits the ability of the technical colleges to respond to the rapidly evolving demands of Wisconsin's businesses and meet the training needs of Wisconsin residents."

Despite the compelling testimony, Republicans voted the bill out of committee. If approved by the Legislature, the bill would limit technical college districts to a 2.6% year-over-year levy increase and result in millions of dollars of program cuts to K-12 school districts.

The hearing was held at Waukesha Technical College. A number WTCS representatives were in attendance, including several WTCS graduates, and members of the WTCS Advocacy Network. Dan Clancy (WTCS President) and Lee Rasch (President of Western Wisconsin Technical College) presented testimony on behalf of the WTCS administration. Click the link below for Steve's complete testimony. http://www.weac.org/constit/wtcs/techmemo/2004-05/2_7/1.htm

Fewer students could qualify for Pell Grants under Bush administration change

Needy college students may lose financial aid eligibility after an important rule change was implemented by the Bush Administration late last year. The U.S. Department of Education updated the formula used to determine eligibility for the Pell Grant program, the federal government's largest financial aid program. Higher education officials in Wisconsin estimate that 5,500 students could lose Pell Grant eligibility and thousands more could see reduced award amounts.

Click below to see a letter from WEAC President Stan Johnson to Wisconsin's Congressional delegation opposing the formula change.

Review of AAS Working Group Meeting

The WTCS State Board's working group on the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree met Wednesday (January 26, 2005) and began addressing several of the issues and concerns surrounding the proposed restructuring of the AAS degree. The working group was formed by WTCS State Board President Brent Smith at the November 17, 2004 board meeting after faculty representatives presented a series of concerns about the AAS restructuring plan and a number of corollary issues.