WEAC Represents Members, Students at School Finance Talks
A three-day meeting convened by the governor to discuss school financing
issues will result in more discussions, according to WEAC representatives
who attended the talks November 28-30, 2001.
“We do not anticipate that a specific set of proposals for legislative
or administrative action will come from this,” WEAC President Stan
Johnson said. “Additional conversation, people, and ideas will be
added to the mix.”
More than 40 representatives of labor, education, and business groups
attended the meeting in northern Wisconsin. The invitation-only event
drew criticism from some news media because it was not open to the public.
A team of 14 WEAC representatives, including the officers; representatives
from the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association; a UniServ president;
a UniServ director; and staff were in attendance.
“WEAC representatives attended the meeting to make sure the voices
of teachers, staff, and students were heard,” Johnson said.
“This was an important gathering, and the education community needed
strong representation. We believe that the current system of financing
schools needs to be changed in order to ensure every kid attends a great
school.
“Our input revolved around the principles that great schools provide
classrooms that work,that great schools depend on great teachers and staff,
and that great schools benefit everyone.”
The participants issued the following statement at the end of the meeting:
“At the request of Gov. McCallum, his school finance adviser Morris
Andrews invited the organizations named below to participate in a meeting
to share concepts and ideas to improve Wisconsin’s school finance
system, assist in working to address the state’s current budget woes
and improve the quality of education for Wisconsin students and the vitality
of Wisconsin’s economy. The parties wish to thank Gov. McCallum for
bringing divergent sides together to tackle an issue of great importance
to the entire state of Wisconsin. The parties believe that without Gov.
McCallum’s push, it was unlikely that such a gathering could
have ever been convened.
“As a result, the parties have pledged to each other and the governor
to continue the dialogue between and among each other, to exchange more
concepts and ideas, to work on detailed plans on the issues raised, to
continue to provide input to the governor that will improve the state’s
school finance system to benefit students, to responsibly consider appropriate
revenue streams, to respect the state’s need for a healthy business
climate, to reach out to the state’s legislative leadership and the
state superintendent on these issues, and to build on the new personal
and organizational relationships that the summit developed. We believe
that these new and improved relationships will benefit Wisconsin citizens
and the state’s overall economic climate. All parties agree that
the bottom line is to have the best public education system possible for
the students of Wisconsin.”
Groups represented at the talks included WEAC, the Metropolitan Milwaukee
Association of Commerce; Milwaukee Public Schools; Milwaukee suburban
school districts; Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association; the School
Administrators Alliance; the Wisconsin Association of School District
Administrators; the Wisconsin Builders Association; the Wisconsin Counties
Association; the Wisconsin Farm Bureau; Wisconsin Manufacturers &
Commerce; the Wisconsin Realtors Association; the Wisconsin State Employees
Union; the Wisconsin Towns Association; and Rep. Luther Olsen, chair of
the Assembly Education Committee.
Posted November 30, 2001