WEAC Members Intensify Budget Pressure on Legislators
WEAC members are returning to Madison Thursday, June 10, to lobby legislators
on critical education issues in the state budget. They will meet with
legislative leaders to explain how their budget decisions affect children,
educators and school districts.
Members will focus on several key issues, including:
- Class
size reduction. WEAC supports expanding the Student Achievement
Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program to fund all schools with more
than 50% low-income student enrollment.
- Special
education funding. WEAC is calling on the Legislature to end
a freeze on categorical aid for special education and keep its commitment
to fund 63% of the cost of special education programs. In this budget,
the state should at least fund special education categorical aid at
a 50% level. It currently funds about 34% of the cost.
- Revenue controls and
the Qualified Economic Offer
law. WEAC continues to seek repeal of these laws.
- Work-Based
Learning Board. WEAC supports keeping all school-to-work programs
in the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Technical
College System.
“The budget is the most important document in state government,”
WEAC President Terry Craney said. “We must intensify our efforts
to make sure policy decisions that benefit children and schools are
in the budget.”
The member lobbyists will ask legislators to support WEAC positions
on these issues as the budget moves from the Joint Finance Committee
to the Assembly and then to the Senate.
This is the third time this year WEAC members have traveled to Madison
to lobby on education issues. In April, members were joined by principals
and parents to lobby for improvements to the SAGE program. In May, WEAC
formed a coalition with administrators, school board members, parents
and educators to increase funding for special education.
Posted June 4, 1999