Contact: Brandon Weathersby, 414-364-6729, brandon@andygronik.com

MILWAUKEE – On National Teacher Day, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Andy Gronik, issued the following priorities for funding Wisconsin public schools when elected as the state’s next governor:

We should:

  • Fully fund our public schools, so they are the very best choice for all kids. That’s possible by reprioritizing how we spend Wisconsin’s $76 billion budget.
  • Stop the expansion of private voucher schools.
  • Simplify the funding formula, so all public schools are treated with equity.
  • Measure the performance of all schools using the same metrics as a condition of receiving public funds
  • Restore local control, so public schools have the flexibility to apply their funds in ways that best address the challenges and needs of the kids in the building.
  • Restore collective bargaining rights, so teachers have a voice in our classrooms and review compensation packages, so they are structured to reward inspired education and learning.
  • Execute a one-school-year-plan to substantially improve student outcomes.
  • Deploy an agreed upon suite of national best practices and empower schools to apply the tools most appropriate for the students in their school and district.

We should NOT:

  • Return kids to their neighborhood public school until they are the very best choice for all kids. Parents everywhere in Wisconsin are desperately seeking the kind of quality education for their children that will allow them to go on to live successful lives. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by inequities in our public school system. In 2015-16, white students in Wisconsin had the third highest graduation rate in the country, and black students had the second lowest. During the 18 months that Andy Gronik traveled the state before declaring himself a candidate for governor, black families routinely told him that, “They’re sick of white people telling them where to send their black kids to school.”

The Truth: There are 30,000 children in Wisconsin’s voucher school program. Any candidate for governor who says they will discontinue the voucher program without a thoughtful and appropriate transition period is doing so for political gain; is not being intellectually honest; is contributing to a system that is horribly broken the consequences of which is the continued loss in life potential of generations of kids; and explains why Democrats have lost three straight elections to Gov. Scott Walker.

Conclusion:  Andy Gronik will be a governor who will fight for great public school education for all kids. He is not going to remove a child from a safe and productive learning environment and return them to their neighborhood public school until that school is the very best choice.

Andy Gronik’s Comprehensive Plan for Public Education
Andy Gronik’s education plan (https://andygronik.com/plans/education-plan/) is informed by hundreds of teachers, students, administrators, parents, and community stakeholders to whom he listened over the 18 months prior to declaring himself a candidate.  He welcomes your input, too.

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