By Christina Brey

Wisconsin’s governor conducted his first-ever State of the State address last night. He made all the appropriate nods to the blizzard outside and Super Bowl anticipation, and set in with a standard message of tough choices. There were few details, however.

Here’s a quick round-up:

Crisis, crisis, and more crisis

Walker calls for tough choices, but offers few specifics

Gov. targets state worker benefits in his speech

Walker: Start Interstate project sooner than later

Democrats: Walker short on details

One thing I noticed was that, unlike other speeches I’ve followed (from both sides of the aisle), this governor didn’t mention our state’s successful schools – didn’t talk about Wisconsin’s proud tradition of public education. Nothing. That’s unfortunate, because our schools are a big part of Wisconsin’s high quality of life, and who better to acknowledge that than the state’s governor?

It left me wondering – is education still a priority for Wisconsin? I sure hope so. It’s the foundation for any economic recovery.

We’ll know more in coming weeks – as the state budget is unveiled – and we can guess that it will include more steep cuts to our schools and calls for more work for less pay and fewer benefits from public employees. I know as a union we’re ready to work together with state leaders to find solutions that help our students and schools, and that allow our schools to attract and retain the best educators for those students and schools.

We know Wisconsin is facing tough economic times and that there are difficult decisions that have to be made. As our state’s leaders take on the challenges ahead, it’s my hope that their actions will reflect Wisconsin’s true priorities.

If you want to connect with your legislators to remind them that education should remain a Wisconsin priority, you may want to send a Cyberlobby message, it’s a web-based application that helps you find your elected officials and e-mail them.

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