Doyle Vetoed Save The Day

Governor Doyle used his veto authority to "save the day" for Wisconsin public schools and the children of Wisconsin in 2005, a Milwaukee teacher said Monday (June 18, 2007) while testifying against a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict the governor's veto powers.

Milwaukee kindergarten teacher Kelly McMahon appeared at a hearing in the State Capitol to testify that Governor Doyle used his veto authority to "save the day" for public schools and children in 2005.

"Two years ago, Governor Doyle used the power of his veto pen that the Wisconsin State Constitution grants him to keep Wisconsin schools great and moving in the right direction," Milwaukee kindergarten teacher Kelly McMahon told the Senate Committee on Ethics Reform and Government Operations. "It might have been education that the veto pen rescued in the last budget, but in the future it may be some other area that will need the governor to save the day by using the power of the veto."

The proposed constitutional amendment - Assembly Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Joint Resolution 5 - prohibits the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority on appropriation bills, from creating new sentences by combining parts of two or more sentences of a bill.

McMahon said she opposes the resolution "due to what my students would have faced had the governor's veto powers been limited during the state budget process" in 2005.

In the Legislature’s 2005-07 state budget, Milwaukee Public Schools would have received $22.7 million less in general school aids and lost $73 million in revenue authority, she said, resulting in hundreds of employee layoffs and large increases in class sizes.

"These budget cuts would have also resulted in drastic cuts in programs that enrich the educational careers of children like foreign languages, art, music, library, and physical education," she said.

"If it wasn’t for Governor Doyle’s use of his veto pen to save the day for public schools, one 4th-grade student at my school would not have had the opportunity to have his art work on display this spring right here at the Capitol. If Governor Doyle had not used his veto pen to restore the critical funding for education to the budget two years ago, that child would have lost his access to art class at my school," McMahon said.

She also said that Milwaukee's Rufus King High School, which was recently recognized nationally for being one of the best high schools in the country, would have been forced to cut teachers, guidance counselors, librarian/media specialists, and specialty programs that enhance the students’ academic careers in the areas of fine arts and languages.

Janesville teacher Maren Mapp, center, talks with Milwaukee teacher Kelly McMahon, right, and WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator Deb Sybell before testifying at the hearing.

Such cuts would have happened not just in Milwaukee but in schools throughout the state, she said.

Janesville 1st- and 2nd-grade teacher Maren Mapp said she also saw firsthand the benefits that the governor's veto action provided to the children of Janesville.

"Exercising his veto authority in the 2005-07 state budget, Governor Doyle restored $4,470,335 in state aid to Rock County schools for the 2006-07 school year. The Janesville School District, where I work, received increased state aid funding of $1,786,133 compared to the Legislature’s plan," she said. "The state budget produced by the Legislature would have not only significantly reduced Governor Doyle’s investment in general school aids, it would have restricted school district revenue growth to just $100 per student. As a result, the Janesville School District would have faced a potential $7.8 million biennial revenue loss.

"If Governor Doyle had not been able to use his partial veto authority to rescue schools, my students would have had to pay the price," Mapp said.

If this resolution had been in effect in 2005, she said, the result in Janesville would have been:

• No social worker in any elementary school.
• Library media specialists changed from full-time to half time in every elementary school.
• Reduced art instruction for all elementary students by 20 minutes per week.
• Special education services removed.
• Reduced talented and gifted (TAG) services for all Janesville School District students due to staff cuts.
• Increased travel time for keyboarding, music, physical education, and art teachers due to reduced staff.
• One aide position cut at each elementary school.

"The consequences for children are devastating," Mapp said. "For the homeless student and family in my classroom, no social worker means there isn’t anyone in my building to help them. Classroom teachers need social workers to understand issues and legal responsibilities mandated by 'No Child Left Behind' for homeless students. Half-time media specialists means reduced time for my class in the library and no instruction in library media skills. Reduced art instruction means I am less able to plan and implement quality lessons because of reduced prep time."

Posted June 18, 2007