President Bush proposes dismantling Perkins program ... again

For the second straight year, President George Bush has proposed the elimination of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education program. President Bush's $2.7 trillion fiscal year 2007 federal budget proposal zeros out the $1.3 billion Perkins program, the federation government's main career and technical education program.

Different name, same old TABOR

Republican legislators have introduced a new version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), which they now dub the Taxpayer Protection Amendment. While the proposal may be sporting a new name, it is nothing more than a retread version of previous failed ideas.

WEAC president Stan Johnson called the new TABOR "fundamentally flawed and reckless fiscal policy" that would "decimate public education."

President of LEA testifies against SB 531

Paul Hoffman, president of the Lakeshore Education Association, testified on Wednesday, February 8 against Senate Bill 531, which would impose a hard freeze on technical college property tax levies.

The bill, authored by Senator Alan Lasee, would result in a rapid ratcheting down of programs and services offered by technical college districts, severely limiting the valuable contributions the colleges make to economic and workforce development in Wisconsin.

As of this writing, no further action has been taken on the bill.

Paul Hoffman's testimony can be viewed here.

Mid-State ESP bargainers honored

Congratulations to the Mid-State Technical College Education Support Professionals bargaining team, winners of the 2005 Paul Bierbrauer Award for excellence in bargaining.

Click here to read the comments of Kay Hansen, co-chair of the WEAC Bargaining Goal Committee.