1998 Convention
'Let's do what's best
for children,'
Craney says
Wisconsin educators have always done what's best for all the children
of Wisconsin, and public officials should adopt policies that do the same,
WEAC President Terry Craney said in an address to the WEAC Convention.
Wisconsin
public education is successful because of the hard work, talent and dedication
of its teachers, support staff and union, he said.
"Radical distracters portray teacher unions as roadblocks to education
reform. Those portrayals are absolutely wrong," Craney said. "A
recent report by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future shows that SAT scores
are 43 points higher in states with high levels of teacher union activity.
Teacher unions, made up of educators, not only bargain for wages and benefits,
we fight for conditions that affect school performance such as class size,
academic resources, and teacher training. Why? Because WEAC, Wisconsin's
educators, wants what's best for all children."
WEAC supports education reforms that increase student achievement and
oppose those that don't, he said.
For example, he said, independent evaluations have shown that private
school vouchers do not improve student achievement, and WEAC believes
they should be discontinued.
Reducing class sizes, however, has proven to have a remarkably positive
effect on student achievement, and WEAC strongly supports measures to
reduce class sizes.
"Research shows that smaller class size in kindergarten through
grade 3 results in higher student achievement that lasts for years after
children leave the 3rd grade," Craney said. "Unfortunately,
revenue caps are driving class sizes up across the state. In Racine, some
classes have 45 students in them. There isn't even enough space to give
every child a desk. Remember that $28 million that the state is spending
on the voucher program? That money could be used to hire 550 additional
teachers and reduce class sizes in schools eligible for the SAGE program
across the state. What an impact that would have."
WEAC supports charter schools, Craney said, but strongly believes they
must be responsible to an elected school board and ultimately to the voters.
Private charter schools, he said, use taxpayers' money and then refuse
to educate special education students.
"Public educators and public schools accept every student who walks
through their doors," he said. "We take them and we teach them.
And we teach them well. We continue to have the highest ACT test scores
in the nation, high SAT scores, high graduation rates, and low dropout
rates. Let's stop wasting public dollars on private charter schools -
a backdoor method for vouchers. Let's keep public dollars for public schools
and do what's best for all children."
Craney said the legislature and governor sent conflicting messages last
spring when they created a Professional Standards Council for Teachers
- which will ensure high teacher quality - but then expanded alternative
teaching permits allowing non-teachers to teach. WEAC supports the council
and believes Wisconsin must have highly trained, fully certified teachers.
Alternative teaching permits, he said, are not good for children.
Craney blasted school district revenue controls, saying they are hurting
children by increasing class sizes, causing a lack of materials, delaying
new educational programs, preventing the purchase and use of up-to-date
technology, and forcing districts to put off needed maintenance.
"We have been successful in punching some holes in the revenue caps
by passing legislation which provides relief for districts with declining
enrollments and allows funding outside the caps for technology, for summer
school, and for the SAGE program," Craney said. "But revenue
caps are still wrong and simply not fair. Let's overturn revenue caps
and do what's best for all children."
In other comments, Craney said:
- The governor and legislature are failing to live up to their promise
to fund special education. When special education laws were passed in
the 1970s, the state made a commitment to fund 63% of those costs. Today,
the state funds less than 40% of special education costs. "I have
heard school board members from around the state remark that had the
state picked up its share of special education costs, there never, never
would have been a property tax problem. Today, the state has a budget
surplus. Let's use that surplus to fund special education and all of
education at adequate levels and do what's best for all children."
- When all teacher contracts in the state expire again next June 30,
"Job actions, talk of strikes, sick-outs, working to the clock,
and boycotts of open houses could become common occurrences again."
The Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) law is causing frustration and anger
and is not working, Craney said. "The QEO is wrong and simply unfair.
The QEO must go. Let's repeal the QEO so we can do what's best for all
children."
Posted October 29, 1998