MADISON, WI – In a new op-ed published in The Cap Times, Rep. Jenna Jacobson is painting a clear picture of how Howard Marklein has neglected his responsibilities, neglected Wisconsin’s public education system, and abandoned the hardworking families of Wisconsin’s 17th Senate District.
When Rep. Jacobson announced her campaign, she made it clear that she would hold Sen. Marklein’s feet to the fire of profoundly underfunded schools across the district and the state. This op-ed shows the extent to which Marklein and Republicans in Madison are failing the children and families of Wisconsin – that as a result of the new budget, 60% of the school districts in the 17th Senate District will see substantial losses in general aid funding.
Read Rep. Jacobson’s Full Op-Ed Below:
Marklein’s budget starves his district’s schools
Whether as a member of the Oregon Village Board, the representative of Wisconsin’s 50th Assembly District, a mother of three kiddos or simply walking down the street, I have never met a Wisconsinite who wants anything less than the best for their children — a safe and prosperous future with multiple opportunities to thrive.
Working to provide opportunities for our kids is not and should not be a Republican or Democratic issue. We may have different ideas on the best way to do it, but we should be united in the age-old adage of wanting to leave our children with a better life than we had.
This shouldn’t be a fight, but it is, and it divides along party lines. Democrats show up and are ready to do the hard work of making government work for the people, while Republicans are passing budgets and policies that hurt real people.
Howard Marklein, state senator from Wisconsin’s 17th District, is chief among those Republicans. As co-chair of the powerful Joint Committee on Finance, he actively gutted programs Wisconsin children and families rely on.
We have seen the impacts of Marklein’s callous and ineffective leadership across the 17th Senate District. It is clear when elementary schools are forced to close their doors and has only become more obvious with his most recent devastating cuts to public education.
As a result of Marklein’s budget and Republican’s efforts to gut public education, over the next year 60% of the school districts in the 17th District will receive less state funding.
The numbers are almost too ridiculous to believe. Next year the Mount Horeb Area School District will see $1.2 million in cuts from their general aid funding. Pecatonica School District in Iowa County will have more than $500,000 cut from its budget. The River Ridge School District in Grant County will have nearly $400,000 less than the year prior.
In total, school districts across Wisconsin’s 17th Senate District are losing over $8.1 million in general education funding as a result of Marklein’s budget.
These are not simple, belt-tightening measures. These are massive and fundamental changes to the budgets of these public school districts that Wisconsinites in the 17th District rely on, and taxpayers will be asked to make up the difference when school districts are forced to go to referendum to raise the needed revenue.
While there are many valid opinions when it comes to the role of state government in Wisconsin, I don’t know anyone who thinks that budgets should be balanced on the backs of our children’s futures.
We want our schools to be as effective and safe as possible. Howard Marklein is leveraging our children’s futures and forcing schools, teachers and taxpayers to do more with less. It has never been more clear that residents of Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Rock and Vernon counties deserve better.
That’s why I am running to be your next senator in the 17th Senate District. I pledge to show up to do the work.
