Educators And Community Must Unite For Kids, Forum Told

Educators, parents, and other citizens must work together to find ways to keep our schools great, WEAC President Stan Johnson told a community forum Tuesday (May 7, 2002) in the Mequon-Thiensville School district.

"We need to talk to each other, not at each other," he said.

Johnson cited the example of Eau Claire, where teachers and the school board recently joined together in signing a resolution calling for an end to state-imposed school district revenue controls and the Qualified Economic Offer law.

"We need to stand up as a group and say enough is enough," said Johnson, who was on a panel of five people. They led a community discussion on how Mequon-Thiensville can maintain its great schools. About 80 people attended the forum, which was organized by the Mequon-Thiensville Education Association.

WEAC President Stan Johnson discusses the need to maintain great schools, while legislative candidate Ben Pliskie looks on.

Much of the focus was on decreasing financial support of schools, fueled by school district revenue controls and the QEO law, which leaves teachers powerless at the bargaining table and has resulted in a sharp downturn in teacher salaries relative to inflation and to other states.

For teachers and school support staff, Johnson said, it has become a fight not just for money but for dignity.

"We must stand up not just for ourselves, but for the values in our community," he said.

The M-TEA is one of 284 local teacher associations still without a contract for 2001-03. Revenue controls and the QEO are to blame for that record number of unsettled contracts, Johnson said. The laws have resulted in low teacher morale throughout the state and a reduction in education services and quality.

"We need courageous community leaders to define what a great school is," Johnson said. "And the next step is to go and find a fair way to fund it."

Johnson challenged critics who say the government tends to "throw money" at education.

"We don't throw money at education," he said. "We invest it in the future. Our future is our kids."

Johnson said great schools rely on quality teachers and staff, and the system must provide the resources to retain and attract them. He also said great schools rely on classrooms that work, which requires that they be provided with adequate financial resources. Finally, he said, communities need to recognize that great schools benefit the entire community by promoting good citizenship and economic expansion.

Jack Roller, superintendent of the Northern Ozaukee School District, said the number of school programs and services have increased sharply over the last 10 years while the financial resources to support them have declined.

He said most people don't realize how much more complex education has become in the last decade. He cited an increase in programs for gifted and talented children and special education children, including children with attention deficit disorder. Programs aimed at increasing attendance and graduation rates take up considerable time, he said, as do secondary options programs and services, increased nursing services, expansion and incorporation of technology into the curriculum, and increased state reporting requirements.

In addition, he said, the state and federal governments are requiring a great deal more testing, which takes more time for preparation, implementation, reporting and analysis. With that, he said, comes higher expectations and benchmarks.

"That's not bad," he said, "but there is a cost to that, folks." Unfortunately, he said, at the same time that these programs, services, and expectations have increased, "there's been an erosion of support," making the jobs of educators much more difficult.

"The agenda has expanded while the revenues have shrunk," he said.

For administrators like himself, that means making difficult decisions that include laying off staff, increasing class sizes, eliminating courses, delaying maintenance, increasing debt, and raising user fees.

Roller said supporters of public education need to inform the public about the increasing needs of public education. "We must talk about what schools do for kids," he said.

He also warned them to be sure "we don't turn on ourselves" as things get difficult.

"It makes us a soft touch for the political enterprise because they can count on us to do ourselves in," he said.

Teddy Styles, a junior at Homestead High School, said he has benefited from a small class size in his advanced placement government class. "Without the teacher interaction we got, I really doubt anyone could excel like we do," he said.

He also said it was important to him that the school have a wide range of classes available and not be forced to cut class offerings, and that many extracurricular activities be available to students. Freshman football, basketball and tennis are "in serious jeopardy" at his school, which is a shame, he said, because any activity is better for students than going home and watching TV.

"I don't want kids after me to get less of an education because of budget cuts," he said.

Barb Perlson, a teacher at Wilson School, said budget cuts are leading to overcrowded classes, less money to hire and retain staff, elimination of buses for after-school activities, and the cutting of summer school programs. In addition, they are threatening the writing lab and gifted and talented programs, among other things.

It is time, she said, to end revenue caps and the QEO law and find an alternative way to fund schools to ensure they continue to provide an excellent education.

Ben Pliskie, a candidate for the 60th Assembly District, said he would like to find better ways to fund schools to minimize the impact of a bad economy, but said it was important to remember that schools do not operate in a vacuum during a recession.

Jeff Conn, who moderated the forum, said the goal was to focus on finding a common voice toward "an achievable goal."

"Today is not the time for anger but for action," he said.

Resource page on the Qualified Economic Offer law
Resource page on school district revenue controls

Posted May 8, 2002