TABOR Could Take Schools to 'The Point of No Return'
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,
same old TABOR 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." |
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:
- Eau Claire firefighter Lance Hanson said further said cuts would reduce the number of firefighters, reducing response time and raising the risk of more deaths in the community.
- Kelly Christianson, executive director of Interfaith Hospitality, said the few services now available to homeless families would vanish.
- UW-Eau Claire student Erika Dinkel-Smith said more college students - some of whom already are working two or three jobs to pay their way through school - would drop out because of rising tuition and fees.
In addition, the quality of education in the system and the level of services provided to students would drop. "This will affect us tremendously," she said.
- Judi Moseley, the sexual assault victims service coordinator at Bolton Refuge House in Eau Claire, said the only thing left to cut in her field is direct services to victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. "Non-profits in our community are already hurting," she said. "I can't even try to imagine what further restrictions are going to do."
- Business owner Jeff Smith said because TABOR is a constitutional amendment it is a way for legislators by bypass their responsibilities to set priorities and spend wisely. "That is their job, and if they can't do their job they should step aside," he said.
- Mary Halada, vice chancellor for administration and finance at UW-River Falls, said rising tuition already is excluding worthy students from UW System schools. "TABOR will seriously hinder our ability to provide an accessible and affordable education to our citizens," she said. It would "begin the process of dismantling our great institutions of higher learning."
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