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Pictured during the South West Education Association Legislative Dinner are Senator Dale Schultz and Rachel Schultz, superintendent of Richland Schools, with Diane Loomis of Richland and Shawn Chatfield and Judy Barnes from River Ridge.
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Educators from the South West Education Association gathered Monday (April 14, 2008) in Mineral Point for dinner and conversation with area state lawmakers and representatives from the congressional offices of Senator Herb Kohl and Representative Ron Kind. The forum provided SWEA members with an opportunity to talk one-on-one with legislators and ask about critical issues facing education. This event followed a similar legislative event for SWEA members in Prairie du Chien on Saturday (April 12, 2008).
SWEA President Julie Addison-Fulton moderated a panel discussion about the future of school funding reform and health care reform with Senator Dale Schultz (R- Richland Center) and Representatives Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Middleton), Steve Hilgenberg (D-Dodgeville) and Phil Garthwaite (D-Fennimore). Lawmakers expressed the need for bipartisan cooperation to achieve school funding reform and acknowledged the fiscal plight of school districts forced to go to referenda with fears of consolidation. They also voiced support for the right to collectively bargain for health care, but had differing ideas about how to reform the health care system from building on Wisconsin success stories such as BadgerCare and SeniorCare to achieving universal health care.
Darcy Luoma from Senator Herb Kohl’s office and Brad Pfaff from Representative Ron Kind’s office fielded questions about reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the so-called “No Child Left Behind Act.” They were asked to address member concerns about the underfunded federal mandate, the narrow-mindedness of assessments based solely on test scores and the downside of linking teacher pay to test scores.
WEAC Vice-President Guy Costello was also in attendance.
Posted April 16, 2008