(MADISON, WI) — Ahead of Mike Pence’s visit to Madison today, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Ben Wikler, Madison School Board Member Ananda Mirilli, Madison East Bilingual Resource Officer Silvia Gomez, and Dane County Board Candidate José Rea blasted Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Betsy Devos for their broken promises on education.
Instead of investing in education, the Trump administration has continued Scott Walker’s legacy of siphoning funds away from traditional public schools and attacking teacher’s unions. Trump, Pence and DeVos have repeatedly attempted to slash funding for public education, threatened student loan forgiveness programs, and proposed massive budget cuts in in teacher training programs. They care more about lining the pockets of big corporations than helping the next generation of Americans get the high-quality education they deserve.
At the event, the speakers said, in part, the following:
Ben Wikler: “As a father of a student at an elementary school here in Madison, it breaks my heart to see Trump and his administration breaking their promises to our kids. Trump and his cronies are sabotaging public education because it’s not their children who go to public school….They’re handing massive tax cuts to the richest people in America while cutting funding for teachers, for training, for our school systems. Democrats will fight everyday, Democrats are unified in the belief that a public education is the foundation of a free and democratic society. We believe that fighting for every child’s right to have a great public education is foundational to the future of our community and to the future of our country.
Ananda Mirilli: “If we were to imagine and build a better future for our babies, we have to make sure that every child — regardless of zip code, regardless of the color of their skin or their immigration status — gets to live their dream and experience the quality of education they deserve, inspired by the constitution and the deep values of our country, we need to be brave. That means every single school has the resources and support they need to serve their students. Not some, all…It’s clear that under the current administration — and I don’t do this often, but I will name: Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Betsy Devos — our public schools are under attack. They never intended nor will they fulfill any promise to improve our public education, neglecting Wisconsin families and our children.”
Silvia Gomez: “I worry what will happen if Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos get their way…I worry what would happen to the students and families that rely on me on a daily basis. Donald Trump and his administration have broken the promise to help our education system. And if things are bad now under them, I know we can’t take four more years of their policies.”
José Rea: “When I see things like Donald Trump and Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos cutting funding to public education, it frustrates me. It frustrates me because I know there’s tons of other folks here in this community who need access to these resources…If we can’t keep that up, people are going to continue to fall through the cracks. Our public education system should not be about profit…We already lived through the days of Scott Walker gutting our public school education here in Wisconsin and now we’re seeing it at the federal level. We cannot go backwards. We cannot go through that again and our kids’ future — and therefore all of our futures — are on the line.”