skip to main navigation skip to demographic navigationskip to welcome messageskip to quicklinksskip to features
  • Membership Ad Test 3
  • WEAC Member Benefits

Key Education Proposals in Governor's 1997-98 State Budget Address

Technology Education Achievement in Wisconsin (TEACH):

The governor’s educational technology proposal provides $500 million over five years, exempt from revenue controls. It includes:

  • $65 million in block grants for school district educational technology.
  • $50 million in annual bonding as loans to districts to upgrade electrical and network wiring.
  • $8 million to CESAs to provide training programs for teachers.
  • $15.2 million for the UW System and WTCS for development and expansion of the student information system, distance education, classroom technology and teacher training.

Charter schools:

The governor proposed allowing the Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the City of Milwaukee to establish charter schools.

Vouchers:

“I will not give up the fight for the Milwaukee School Choice program,” Thompson said. “I will take this case to the highest court in the land.”

School-to-work:

Thompson said he and former State Superintendent Herbert Grover propose consolidating the state school-to-work program into the Department of Workforce Development. Currently, he said, it is split among three agencies. He also said he would appoint Grover as a leader on the Governor's Council on Workforce Excellence “to help us continue to develop new ways of connecting work and learning.”

Technical college:

Thompson proposed allowing high school students greater access to technical colleges. Under his plan, high school juniors and seniors could attend a technical college, “actually earning their high school diploma from the technical college if they choose.”

Standards:

Thompson proposed a set of academic standards in math, science, English and language arts, geography and history. The standards were developed by the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Indiana. They are very different from a set of standards being developed in Wisconsin through a grassroots process organized by the Department of Public Instruction. The DPI standards are the result of input from Wisconsin educators, parents, and citizens and have been the subject of many public hearings throughout the state. State Superintendent John Benson said he hopes the governor’s new Council on Model Academic Standards would use the best of both proposals.

Posted March 4, 1997