MADISON, WI – This morning, Legislative Republicans held a hearing to discuss school consolidation plans for rural Wisconsin. After years of starving our public schools of necessary funding and forcing tax-payers to pick up the slack, what is the Republican response; close the schools, move the kids, fire the teachers, and hope no one notices.
SSDC Communications Director, Will Karcz, released the following statement on Republican’s consolidation efforts:
“Legislative Republicans like Howard Marklein, Rob Hutton, Van Wangaard, and Jesse James have voted over and over again to strip funding away from Wisconsin’s public schools. Putting politics over the children, families, and teachers of our state. These consolidation efforts are a slap in the face to rural families who will be forced to watch their local schools close and then send their kids up to an hour away to attend a more crowded, and still underfunded school. We think Wisconsinites deserve to know if Marklein, Hutton, Wangaard, and James support these blatant attacks on public education and rural Wisconsin.”
This morning’s meeting was aimed at addressing the following legislation:
- Assembly Bill 592 Relating to: professional development for science teachers
- Assembly Bill 644 Relating to: state aid for consolidated school districts
- Assembly Bill 645 Relating to: grants for feasibility studies of school district consolidation or whole grade sharing
- Assembly Bill 646 Relating to: requiring a school district consolidation study.
- Assembly Bill 647 Relating to: whole grade sharing grants for school boards
- Assembly Bill 648 Relating to: supplemental state aid for consolidated school districts
- Assembly Bill 649 Relating to: supplemental funding for whole grade sharing grants, supplemental state aid for consolidated school districts, grants for feasibility studies of school district consolidation or whole grade sharing, and making an appropriation
