Rep. Sykora Votes His Conscience on Education Issues

When Rep. Tom Sykora looks at education, he doesn’t look through Democratic- or Republican-shaded glasses.

“We’re not being realistic if we don’t look at education and the people that are providing it, and provide them some sense of comfort that the state recognizes them as valuable contributors." --Rep. Tom Sykora

The Chippewa Falls legislator sees the issues directly through the eyes of a father and of a person who strongly believes in equal educational opportunity for all children.

“What we need to do is look at every kid as an individual entity and apply the standard that the kid gets an equal educational opportunity – no matter whether they come from the wealthiest or the poorest district in the state,” Sykora said.

Sykora does not always vote with his Republican colleagues. He is the lone Republican co-sponsor of a bill to repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law, which severely restricts teacher bargaining rights in Wisconsin.

“We’re not being realistic if we don’t look at education and the people that are providing it, and provide them some sense of comfort that the state recognizes them as valuable contributors,” Sykora said.

“We should listen to their voice as a bargaining unit just like any other. Maybe not all in the Legislature understand it. But I think we’d have a better working relationship that way.”

The issue of teacher bargaining rights is intertwined with the issue of school district revenue controls and equity in school funding, Sykora said.

And those problems must be addressed together.

“The education system is going to have to get in there and compete like everybody else,” Sykora said of the need for fair teacher salaries. “I understand why there is a QEO from the standpoint of getting a handle on the cost of education because the bulk of the cost is in salaries.

“But there is a point where it tips the QEO from being useful to losing quality teachers,” he said.

The law is creating stress on teachers and an aura of discontent, he said.

“And many (teachers) are looking for an alternative rather than staying on for 20 to 25 years.”

But you can’t repeal the QEO without addressing revenue controls, and that goes hand-in-hand with restructuring the state’s school finance system so it is equitable, he said.

Sykora said the “ideal situation” would have each district judged according to its specific needs, with a fine-tuning of the current categorical aids system. Sykora supports the creation of a weighting system where each student would be assigned funding according to need.

He is not optimistic change is near since it requires both parties “working together without trying to politicize the thing. And it seems like everybody is dug in so deep.”

All parties, he said, including elected officials and unions, must move beyond the rhetoric toward the changes.

“We are all winners if we do the right kind of job,” he said.
As the father of a developmentally disabled girl, Sykora has a special interest in – and a special understanding of – the important role of special education.

Under revenue controls, school districts must provide special education services within the limits of their budget. This means districts must take dollars from other programs to provide special needs programs.

When Sykora campaigned for his first term five years ago, many citizens he met working door-to-door were unaware one of Sykora’s five children is a special education student.

“I’ve had people just attack the concept,” he said. “I just bit my lip.”

Sykora said he genuinely understands the frustrations of parents who see regular education programs cut to fund special education programs.

“As a parent of two students in the basic programs, I don’t want their programs shortchanged,” he said, but added his special education daughter deserves quality programs as well.

Sykora said if the federal government fairly funded the special education programs it requires of school districts, state schools would receive an additional $250 million a year.

Those funds would likely eliminate the resentment some parents feel toward special education programs.

It is the same resentment and tension Sykora sees between some taxpayers and their school district, or between financially strapped districts and teachers seeking a pay increase.

“It is kind of a vicious cycle,” he said, “and all that comes back in a negative way to affect” the child and quality of the educational experience.

“That is why we need to fix it.”

So Sykora fights through his frustration when he attempts to discuss equity funding in front of his caucus and with key leaders.
“The ones that I need to talk to and convince ... shut you right off,” he said of the current scenario in which education issues are deeply rooted in partisanship. “Sooner or later, we’ll have to get past that.”

His hope, ultimately, is to get members of both parties to recognize the need to develop a new, fair system of school funding.

“I think if we would just throw (the current system) away and say, ‘What does every child need?’ and make a decision with that criteria, we’d move this thing a lot faster,” Sykora said. “It is not a Democrat or Republican issue.”

Posted September 28, 2001